Galatea
by Zorina Black
Summary: Galatea was going to a fantasy convention when she and her dog get transported to Middle Earth. There she meets Boromir, who takes her with him to Rivendell. After becoming friends with Arwen and the Fellowship, Galatea and Lily join the Fellowship in their quest to destroy the Ring. Will Galatea be able to get Boromir to live, knowing exactly what will happen, and win his heart?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: This is the first Lotr fanfic that I send. I've always loved Lotr, in fact, I've even written my thesis on Tolkien, but most of all, I love Boromir, so I wrote this, and it's up to you to tell me if it's worth going on with it!**

**I own no known place or character, a part from Galatea and Lily! **

**Hope you'll enjoy!**

Someone was touching her forehead gently with a wet cloth.

The smell of grass, soil, resin and leaves reached her nostrils and she inhaled deeply. She was somewhere open. The slightly bothering sensation of something tickling her back had her realise that she was lying on the ground.

Someone, probably the same person who was taking care of her forehead, had used something as pillow for her, because she didn't sense soil on her hair.

Slowly coming back to consciousness, she was hit with an awful sense of nausea.

"_Aw!_" she thought. "_It's concussion!_"

Her head hurt terribly and that appalling pain was what brought her to open her eyes.

It was somewhat blurry at first and for a moment, she thought her myopia was back, but then, she could discern the silhouette of a man kneeling next to her.

The man was most handsome.

He had long dark hair cut just above his shoulders and grave grey eyes. His features were noble and he was richly dressed, although his cloak and boots were slightly dirty as if he had just come after a long horse ride; he had a necklace with only one big pearl and on his side, he wore a big white horn.

At the sight of the horn, the girl held her breath, her face lighting up immediately, her heart beating fast in her chest: the horn had her consider the whole individual in front of her, and she knew who he was. But it couldn't be. It just couldn't be!

"_It must be a dream._" she thought quickly, ignoring the nausea. "_Or maybe I'm dead!_"

However, the nausea overwhelmed her and she sat up and was sick. "_Okay._" she thought miserably. "_Maybe I'm not._"

"You need to lie down a moment longer, lady." the man said gently, pushing her back on the 'bed' he'd made for her. "You have a concussion." he frowned, as if he had suddenly considered something. "Do you understand my language?"

She instinctively nodded, but the slight movement of her head triggered the nausea once again. She closed her eyes to ease that awful sensation. "I do." she said as he helped her leaning down.

"I'm glad." he sighed in relief, with a smile. "I was worried you were not from around here, I've never seen fabric like this you're wearing, lady."

She looked down at her own clothes, to check. She was wearing a pair of black leggings and a black shirt with large sleeves under a corset. Her shoes were her favourite trekking boots.

She started to recall what had happened: she had just been about to get ready for this convention she was supposed to go to with her friends. She had been so excited about it that she had even bought a replica of Excalibur to make her costume even more authentic!

Suddenly noticing the absence of her Irish Setter, she looked up. The man was waiting for her to say something. "Lily!" she exclaimed.

He frowned. "I'm sorry?"

"My dog! She was with me! You didn't see her, did you?" she looked around her. "Lily!"

Something wet touched her cheek, making her flinch. But a moment later she was hugging the medium-size, athletic body of her auburn-haired young dog. "Oh, Lily, sweetheart, I was so worried about you!"

The man chuckled. "I thought she might be yours, lady, she wouldn't leave your side." he waited for the girl to calm down.

It took a while, for the girl to be completely calm: she checked if her pet was all right, then let the man take care of the gash on her forehead.

"There, all done." the man said gently. "Now, lady… would you like to tell me your name?"

"Galatea." she answered far more calmly than she would have thought. "But… I don't know what happened! I mean, I was in my bedroom, getting ready for this… feast I was supposed to go to…"

Unwanted, the tears started to line her face. She had never suffered from amnesia before so that sensation of fear and loneliness that was overwhelming her now was completely new to her. It was worse than any feeling she'd experienced in her life.

All of a sudden, she was covered by a heavy cloak and the cold was gone from her. She wiped the tears away with the back of her hand and sniffled, then glanced at the man, who was smiling at her, his hands still protectively on her shoulders.

"You need not cry, please, lady." he said quietly. "I've seen many Men get head wounds worse than that and healing from a partial memory loss very quickly. I'm sure you'll remember very soon." he raised his eyebrows as if he had suddenly remembered something. "Ah! I completely forgot my manners! I have yet to tell you my name! No wonder you're so distressed! How rude of me. I am B…"

"I know who you are." she said quickly. "I recognized the Horn. It's the Horn of Gondor, isn't it?" he frowned; he was clearly surprised that she knew the Horn. "You're Boromir, the Steward's son."

"Yes." Boromir said slowly, still trying to understand how she could know him. He understood that he, his father and his brother were the most prominent people in Gondor, but this girl, this girl who didn't remember what happened to her… something in her eyes told him that she knew much more about him than she was saying. Something told him that she didn't know about him because of his fame as a warrior. She clearly wasn't from any place he had visited in the past. Yet she was the same race as him, and no mistake. "Now, lady, I would be honoured to escort you to Rivendell, the city of the Elves, I'm headed there to seek…"

"…to seek counsel." Galatea finished the sentence for him and smiled at his confusion. "I know that as well."

"Who are you?" Boromir asked, frowning. His hand instinctively went to the hilt of his sword. "Are you some kind of Seer?"

She hesitated, pondering carefully her answer. She didn't really want for him to think that she was crazy. Of course, if he did she could always link that to that nasty concussion she was still enduring, but she needed to let him understand that she meant no harm to him.

"I suppose we can put it like that." Galatea said, nodding slowly. Boromir's hand was still lingering on his sword's hilt and he was staring at her hard, every kindness gone from his proud face. "You can trust me. There's no one who would hurt you less than me. I even know what's that you're going to ask counsel for."

"And what's that?" Boromir inquired sternly.

"It's about your dream. You and your younger brother both had the same dream, even though Faramir had it twice. 'Seek for the Sword That Was Broken, in Imladris it dwells. There shall be council taken stronger than Morgul's spells. There shall be shown a token that doom is near at hand, for Isildur's bane shall waken and a Halfling forth shall stand.'" Boromir was speechless and Galatea smiled mildly when his fingers slid down the hilt of the sword.

Still sitting on a small rock in front of her, Boromir took his time, considering the whole figure of the young woman before him, her blond hair cut short, dressed in that weird fabric, even if her clothes were normal enough, looking back at him with those azure eyes, waiting for him to say something. What was he supposed to do with her? He had a mission to complete! Maybe he could take her to Rivendell with him and have the Elves look after her? Should he just take her with him back to Minas Tirith? She was young enough to be able to have a good life and she would probably feel better with other people of her race. Maybe he could take her to Edoras and trust her in Théoden King's care?

"Well…" he said with a sigh. It was clear that he still had trouble accepting how much she knew about him. "Then, I think I'll have something else to ask Lord Elrond. Tis a strange story you're telling me, lady, but I am a trained warrior and I don't see why shouldn't I believe you. You need to lie down a bit more, Galatea, then we can move on to Rivendell."

Galatea glanced around.

Lily was still leaning against her shoulder, seeking protection from this unusual place. It would not be long before she got used to these new surroundings and she would start making a mess.

Not far from where she was lying, a great black war-horse, a stallion, was ruminating grass. Lily was looking at his suspiciously. She'd never seen a stallion before, after all.

Boromir had made a fire and she was lying on his 'bed', if someone could describe that like this.

While he rummaged through his things, the girl noticed the maps lying not far from her.

"Maybe I can help you find Rivendell."

He looked up and frowned, clearly offended by her assumption. "I am perfectly capable of reading a map, thank you very much!" he snapped.

It immediately occurred to her that her sentence might have been misunderstood. "Oh, I was not questioning your abilities, I wouldn't dare that!" he glanced at her doubtfully and she thought that the way his eyebrow were joint together was absolutely adorable. "I was implying that if you tell me the date, I could tell you if we're close to Rivendell or not. I'm not familiar with the territory."

Boromir tilted his head, relaxing as he understood that she was telling the truth. If she was a Seer, maybe she could really help him to get to Rivendell.

He returned his attention to his bag and finally found what he was looking for.

He took two apples from his bag and handed one to her. "I am sorry I cannot offer anything better at the moment."


	2. Chapter 2

That night, they entered Rivendell and the Elves welcomed them politely.

One took the horse's reins while another closed the gates nearly leaving out Lily, who protested with a loud yelp.

Confused, the Elf let her in, but smiled in understanding when the dog ran to her mistress.

Boromir got off the horse first and held out his hands.

Galatea blushed, but leant forward to let him help her. It had been a dream to ride the huge war horse with her arms wrapped around Boromir's waist. She had felt how strong his body was and was still surprised that he hadn't complained about how tight she was holding. Well, it was quite obvious that she had never ridden a horse before, so Boromir had probably seen through her and thought that she was either distressed because she was somewhere unknown or because she had never ridden a horse.

When she was safely on her feet, Boromir turned to the two Elves, told them his name, and he and Galatea were guided at the presence of Elrond.

The girl couldn't help but admire with wide eyes the whole place. She had always dreamt to see Middle Earth and now she was.

The Last Homely House was… downright _amazing_! Bright and warm just like she'd always imagined it and… well, not so different from how they'd represented it in the Lord of the Rings movie!

She stood in a dumb silence as Boromir explained to the Elven King the strange circumstances in which he had found the girl. She didn't want to complicate her situation further by seeming stupid as well as crazy and was still trying to come to terms with the fact that she was in Middle Earth. In _Middle Earth_!

However, the situation was easier than they had thought: the moment Boromir closed his mouth, the surprise on Elrond's face was replaced by happiness.

"I have waited long for your arrival, Galatea." he said with a mysterious smile curling his lips up. "It has been long foreseen that a young lady with her dog would abandon her world to reach ours with knowledge of the past and the future of this world." Elrond glanced at Boromir and bowed respectfully. "I am glad that Lord Boromir found you. I was worried for your safety."

After their brief chat with Elrond, the Elven king sent both Boromir and Galatea to their respective rooms.

Arwen Undòmiel herself came to look after the human girl and they hit it off immediately. Although Galatea hadn't taken her in much account after what she'd read about her in the book, the human girl couldn't help but think that the Elven princess was gracious and kind, always making sure that her guest was comfortable enough. She had food brought into her rooms, so that Galatea could eat something, then she helped her comb her hair observing with clear curiosity the strange short haircut to which she wasn't used.

As the other bathed, Arwen leant against the bathtub and sighed deeply.

Galatea grinned. "Worried about your sweetheart?" she teased. "Aragorn's being an idiot again?"

The Elven princess blushed furiously. "You know about me and Estel?"

"Of course. And I can tell you that you don't need to worry. He'll understand what to do with his heritage soon enough."

Arwen saw her chance and took it with a grin playing on her beautiful lips. "What about you?" she asked. "Do you have a sweetheart?" then her grin vanished, her mind suddenly struck by the thought that if Galatea had one, her love was surely back in the world where she couldn't go back. "I'm so sorry; it was so clumsy of me…"

However, Galatea was not offended at all, she brightened even. "You don't have to apologize, Arwen." they had gotten along the moment they had seen each other for the first time, so they had immediately agreed to drop the formalities. "My sweetheart is in this world. He is probably getting ready for the banquet as well, this very moment."

Arwen gasped as she caught exactly what was going on in Galatea's mind. "The Man from Gondor that brought you here?" she asked in a whisper. "Is he your sweetheart?"

"He is. For his qualities and his faults. We've just met, of course, but I fell in love with him a long time ago. Mad, am I not, to fall in love with the character of a book?"

"Why? Now that you're here, he's not fictional any more, is he? None of us is anymore." Arwen shook her head. "We can't help who we fall in love with, can we?" they both shrugged. "Do your best to win his heart, then." Arwen said and they both giggled.

In the end, they agreed on a light blue dress, which was the one they both liked the most.

"You'll have to do with this, for now." Arwen explained. "My father already ordered our servants to get dresses ready for you. They won't be long."

Galatea's smile vanished as she thought about what was going to be of her, now forced to borrow even clothes. "Thank you, Arwen; I don't know how I can ever repay you and your father for this."

The Elven princess hugged her tightly. "Be happy in your new world and we will be repaid."

"I will do my best." she smiled, grateful, and then she looked everywhere. "Where's Lily?"

Arwen hesitated, and then glanced out of the window. "Ah, there she is!" she said, seeing a blur of auburn fur running at full speed in the garden below. "Speaking of which, it's Estel minding her! We can join him in the garden, if you want."

Galatea agreed to that and she and Arwen left the Last Homely House for the garden, where they immediately spotted Lily's auburn fur as the dog ran across the garden at her highest speed.

Aragorn was watching her, sitting on a bench, clearly amused at the dog's antics. When he saw them, he rose and kissed their hands and he introduced himself complimenting the Galatea for her beauty.

She smirked. "Thanks, Ar… _Strider!_" she corrected herself in mid-sentence. "But my heart belongs to another already."

Arwen laughed at the joke and Aragorn did as well. "Already?" he asked. "You've only just arrived!"

"Well, yeah… it's a long story." Galatea said smiling, and then she spotted the four creatures behind Aragorn. They were tall as a seven-year-old child of Man, had hairy feet, curly hair that went from dark-brown to light brown. "Why don't you introduce me to these fine Hobbits, Master Strider?"

"You know about Hobbits?" asked one of them, with curly blond hair. "Most of the Big Folk don't know about us."

"You'll find, Master Peregrin, that this lady knows much more than most people." Aragorn winked at the two maidens making them smile.

They had to avoid each other's eyes not to burst out laughing at the astounded expression of the Hobbits. Then, Aragorn went on. "These are…"

"Let me guess." Galatea interrupted Aragorn with a big grin. She glanced at the Hobbit who had spoken first. "This is surely Master Peregrin Took, but that's not so much of a guess, Strider called your name just a moment ago." her eyes went on the Hobbit right next to him, who had curly blond hair too. "And this must be Master Meriadoc. Meriadoc Brandybuck."

"Call me Merry, my lady." Meriadoc grinned and bowed to her gallantly, immediately followed by Peregrin, who too implored her to use his nickname.

She smiled and promised to do as they asked of her. Her eyes went to the slightly plump Hobbit who was next to the only one who had brown hair. "You are Samwise Gamgee, am I right?" she asked with a gentle smile. Samwise bowed and clumsily asked her to address to him as Sam, so she faced the last Hobbit. "And you're Frodo Baggins. How are you, Frodo? I understand that you only just healed from a nasty injury."

"I'm doing well, my lady." Frodo said courteously. "Thanks for asking."

It was at that moment that Meriadoc took an apple from his pocket and attempted to eat it. He failed, because Lily suddenly appeared and smelled the apple. She wagged her tail and sat down, trying to offer her paw to the Hobbit. "Lily!" her mistress exclaimed, embarrassed. She blushed at Merry's curious expression. "She's my dog." she explained. "She's asking for a piece of your apple."

"Is she?" Merry asked and laughed. "This is funny."

He ate the apple and gave the leftovers to the waiting dog.

"She's so sweet!" Arwen cooed.

They laughed and got acquainted with each other for about another hour, when suddenly an Elf announced that dinner was due in an hour and that they were all invited to wait in the living room.

"Why don't you _Periannath_ precede us in the dining room?" Arwen said to the Hobbits.

The four Hobbits smiled and did as they were told, followed by Lily, who seemed to have grown quite fond of the creatures.

Aragorn chaperoned the two maidens across the garden, back to the palace.

While crossing the halls, right above the stairs, Arwen gasped and tugged at the girl's sleeve. With a merry giggle, the Elven princess ushered the human girl nearer to her, shushing her and motioning for her to watch the entrance.

An old man dressed in grey robes that the girl recognized as Gandalf, was speaking to Boromir, who was clean now and so handsome that Galatea blushed furiously again.

"Is it him?" Arwen asked excited. The other nodded, not tearing her eyes from the Man's face.

"Who?" Aragorn asked curiously, catching up with them to look. "Who is that?"

"That would be Galatea's sweetheart!" Arwen giggled teasingly. It was as if the girl's presence had awoken the human blood the Elven princess had inherited from her half-blood father. It had happened before with Aragorn, but the Man had Elven blood in his veins as did all the Men of Nùmenor and it did not affect the Elves much.

Aragorn glanced at the girl for confirmation. "A Man from Gondor?"

"Yes, he's the one who brought her here." Arwen explained quickly.

Galatea smiled, not tearing her eyes from the handsome features of the Man who was still oblivious of the three pairs of eyes examining him. "You would know." she said with a mysterious grin. "He was a two-year-old toddler when Thorongil left Ecthelion's service in Minas Tirith."

"A two-year-old to…" Aragorn's previously pensive eyes grew wide and he hastily prompted himself to have a better look. "Denethor's son!" he breathed, watching the tall, mighty Man who was still chatting with Gandalf. "_That_'s little Boromir!"

She laughed. "Yes!"

"I can't believe it! I used to take him on my knees…" Aragorn glanced one last time at the Man who was being led away by Gandalf and laughed with the maidens. "You're in love with the Steward's Son?"

"Yes." she grinned as her eyes followed Boromir longingly until he was out of sight.

"Well, that was quick! As I understand it, you've only just met this morning!"

Galatea frowned, offended. "Oh, that is _rich_ coming from you of all people!" she exclaimed. "As if I don't know that you saw Arwen and sang for her even before knowing her name! _Tinùviel! Tinùviel!_" she mocked.

Arwen merely giggled while Aragorn blushed. "How do you know that?" he whispered.

"I think _Adar_ was thinking of telling everybody at dinner." Arwen said softly. She encircled Galatea's shoulders with her hands and pushed her towards the nearest archway, from which came laughs and a warm light.

Aragorn chaperoned the two maidens to the room where the Hobbits could be immediately spotted because of Lily, also they were the loudest aside the group of dwarves. It seemed that Gandalf had still not brought Boromir into the room: Galatea and Arwen had looked around her expectantly the moment they had entered, only to be disappointed.

"Ah, _Dunàdan_!" called an old Hobbit around whom Frodo, Sam, Pippin and Merry were sitting. "Come, come and introduce me to these beautiful ladies. Arwen Undòmiel is as fair as ever, but the other one I do not know!"

Galatea smiled and stepped forward. "That is because I have not been here long, Bilbo Baggins." she explained simply.

"Ah, I thought you might be her!" Bilbo said with a wise smile.

Galatea raised her eyebrows. "Her?"

Bilbo nodded. "The one everyone talk about. The Seer who has reached this house with a female dog. They say a Man from Gondor brought you here."

Galatea exchanged a glance with Aragorn and Arwen but none of them was surprised to know that the rumour of a new arrival at the Last Homely House had spread so quickly.

The three of them joined the five Hobbits into a heated discussion about manners: Hobbits were very strict about manners and always ready to reproach each other about being rude.

Galatea was so engrossed in explaining the many ways to greet people which were used in her world that she didn't notice Elrond entering the room in company of the Man of her dreams, not until Pippin's eyes grew wide as he fed Lily with a piece of bread. "Merry, look, there's another of the Big Folk!"

They all turned to see Elrond followed by Boromir, who was scanning the room for the girl he had saved that day. Galatea immediately jumped to her feet to let him know where she was. He smiled at her, his teeth white now that he had cleaned his body off the dirt of a ride that had gone on for months.

"You look beautiful in that dress, my lady." he commented gently, walking up to her. She smiled, blushing as she nervously played with her short hair. Behind Boromir's back, Aragorn and Arwen snickered. "How is your head?"

"Much better, thank you."

Elrond clapped his hands. "May I have your attention, please?" he asked loudly.

Every person in the room stopped talking and looked at him instantly.

The Elven king nodded gracefully and went on explain the strange circumstances in which the girl had happened to meet Boromir and how the Man of Gondor had helped her reach the Last Homely House.

"It had been foreseen that a girl from another world would reach us and bring knowledge of things past and things that have yet to happen." Elrond explained. "Lady Galatea is this girl and I ask you to be at your best behaviour with her. It's not going to be easy for her to be in another world and we should all help her handle it. Now, let's go to the feast. The banquet is being served." the Hobbits bolted out of the room, closely followed by the Dwarves and Gandalf and Elrond left together with Elrond's sons.

That left Galatea, Boromir, Aragorn and Arwen to stare perplexedly at the now empty room. They stared uncomfortably at each other for a few moments, and then Galatea saw Aragorn and Arwen glance at her for a split second. Aragorn grinned and offered Arwen his arm, who gladly took it.

As they preceded them out of the room, Galatea scoffed. That was not subtle at all. However, she gasped at finding Boromir's arm held out for her to take. "May I escort you to the banquet, Galatea?" he asked with a gentle smile.

She blushed but managed to smile back and had to stop her sudden urge to lean her head on his shoulder. "I'll be more than glad." Galatea said shakily, taking the offered arm.

As they walked out of the room, joining Aragorn and Arwen, Galatea could not let go of Boromir's arm, but she could not keep her face up. She was so embarrassed that her body was rigid.

Eventually, Boromir's kindness turned into curiosity. "Do I make you uncomfortable, milady?"

Galatea gasped. "You most certainly do not!" she exclaimed, shocked. "I feel perfectly safe in your company, my lord!" then she hesitated, again avoiding his eyes. "It's just… I'm not used in being treated like a princess." Galatea scratched her forehead, feeling silly. "I mean… well, my world is so very different but I could explain it like this, I guess… let's say… I'm not a peasant, my family was wealthy enough, but it's so different from this kind of manners."

He stared at her, amazed. "Is that it?" he asked curiously, and she nodded. "Then let's drop the formalities, shall we?"

Her eyes grew wide. "I… I'm sorry?"

"You can call me with my given name only, no titles. And I will call you with _your_ given name."

She hesitated. "But I wouldn't want to force you…" she started.

Boromir shook his head fiercely. "I am giving you my permission."

Galatea closed her mouth and sighed. "Alright, then…" she smiled. "_Boromir_."

He grinned and she felt like melting right there on the floor. "Very well, _Galatea_."

They reached the living room where Arwen excitedly motioned for Galatea to sit next to her. Boromir led her to her seat and smiled at Aragorn, who had left the seat between him and Pippin free for the Man of Gondor. The Steward's son appreciated that thoughtful gesture, even if he wondered about why that Ranger's expression seemed so fatherly when he looked at him.

The banquet was very pleasant: Elves surely did know how to entertain their guests. It was a somewhat intimate dinner. Elrond's guests were in company of the king's family only. Elrond, his twin sons, Arwen Undòmiel, Gandalf, the five Hobbits, a bunch of Dwarves and the Ranger completed the table with Boromir and Galatea. Although he was sitting in front of her, Boromir would have liked to sit next to Galatea who was the only of the same race as he and the Ranger (who had introduced himself as Strider), but he was engrossed in conversation with those sitting around him, while Galatea was giggling happily with the Elven princess. When the meal ended, Arwen Undòmiel rose from her seat and sang a motive that warmed their hearts with its beauty.

"_A Bereth thar Ennui Aeair!_

_A Galad ven i reniar_

_hí 'aladhremmin ennorath._

_A Elbereth Gilthoniel_

_i chin a thûl lîn i gelair…_"

Everyone clapped their hands at the Elven princess's beautiful voice and Galatea smiled brightly at Boromir, who caught her eyes.

It was Pippin's voice that took Galatea away from her love's eyes and she reluctantly looked down at the Hobbit sitting next to the Man from Gondor. "Lady Galatea, can you sing?"

She blushed furiously. Must he ask this right in front of Boromir? Yet, she did know how to sing. "I don't praise myself to be the best of singers…"

"Erestor thinks that you have a beautiful voice…" said Bilbo.

"Well… he's never heard me sing, has he?"

"Then let us decide, milady." Aragorn said with a grin. "Sing for us."

"But I…" Galatea glared at the Ranger. She knew perfectly that he was enjoying teasing her because of her love for Boromir. And that Man was fated to be King of Gondor! What was wrong with him? Galatea caught Arwen's eyes and the Elven princess winked at her. The young woman shook her head. "Alright, then. I'll sing for you, but if you don't like it, don't say I didn't warn you."

"I'm sure it will be delightful." Elrond said with a kind smile.

Galatea took a deep breath, searching in her mind for an appropriate song. As she glanced over at where Aragorn was exchanging longing looks with Arwen, she grinned. The Ranger wanted to make fun of her because of her love for Boromir? Well then, she would make fun of him.

"_O môr henion i dhû:_

_Ely siriar, êl síla_

_Ai! Aníron Undómiel_

_Tiro! Êl eria e môr._

_I 'lîr en êl luitha 'uren_

_Ai! Aníron…_"

The look on Aragorn's face was priceless and Galatea did not hide her triumphant grin: obviously, Arwen had not told Aragorn that the human girl knew of their relationship.

However, when she was back in her room, after that, Galatea was very hurt by the big amount of compliments she received. Elves clearly underestimated Men: none of them had thought that she might have a voice more beautiful than Arwen's voice. Not that Galatea cared about that, Arwen was her first friend here in Middle-earth, but the disbelief that the Elves were showing was insulting. She had thanked them all for their compliments, smiling sincerely at the Dwarves, who voiced their appreciation stating out loud that they found her voice much more pleasing to their ears than that of the Elven princess, no offence taken by Arwen, who herself had said that Galatea had quite a gift.

Galatea slipped under the sheets, ruffled Lily's fur and allowed the dog to curl up in a ball on the bed next to her. As she drifted off to sleep, she felt her heart skip a beat at the memory of Boromir smiling at her across the dinner table.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's**** note****: Thanks for the reviews, really! I had a bit of this story already written, so I'm uploading now! **

**For those who are wondering, Galatea's name is pronounced see this website, the Italian pronunciation is the one I use, being Italian myself! word/galatea/**

The morning after, Galatea dragged herself to the balcony where the meeting was going to be. Just before Boromir escorted her to her rooms, Elrond had asked for her to join them, shocking most of the people present, who obviously found scandalous that a woman join a men's meeting. Even Boromir had tried to protest at first but when he'd seen how hurt Galatea looked he stayed silent and agreed with Elrond's decision.

With Lily trotting happily at her side, Galatea was glad to find Merry and Pippin trying to eavesdrop behind a plant. She smiled and cleared her throat.

The two Hobbits gasped, but when they saw her relaxed and bowed to her.

"Please, milady, don't tell Elrond!" Pippin whispered. "We just want to know what's going on!"

"I won't!" Galatea assured him. "In fact, I'll tell you where to look better, if you would only look after Lily until the Council is over."

"We'll be glad to!" Merry said happily, holding out his hands for the bitch that quickly rushed to him and licked his face.

Galatea chuckled at the sight. When she turned to walk through the archway that separated her from the balcony, she brightened as she saw Boromir walk up to her. She nervously adjusted her hair, failing to notice that Merry elbowed Pippin with a knowing grin on his face. Pippin didn't get the hint.

The Man spotted her. "Good morning!" Boromir said with a smile that had Galatea nearly melt down right then and there. She nodded in greeting, smiling back. Behind her, Merry and Pippin tried to hide with Lily, but failed. "And good morning to you two, young Hobbits."

For once, Merry and Pippin did not know what to say. They just stood there, staring at Boromir in horror: Galatea had been kind enough to keep their secret, but there was no way that the Man from Gondor would. He seemed so serious.

The girl chuckled. "Boromir, would you promise the Hobbits that you won't tell where they're hiding?"

"Oh, is that the problem?" asked Boromir. "Don't worry, Master Meriadoc, Master Peregrin, I won't tell you off."

The Hobbits thanked them so much that the two humans had to run to the balcony worried that they would be late.

Fortunately, the room was still quite empty, but they hurried to their seats nevertheless. Galatea frowned, confused by the flash of disappointment on Boromir's face as she sat next to Aragorn. She glanced at him after sitting, but Boromir grinned at her as he had done since they had met the night before. With a lighter heart, Galatea smiled back and leant her back in the seat.

Not long after that, the room filled with several Elves, Elladan and Elrohir, those Dwarves Galatea had met the day before, Bilbo, Gandalf and Frodo, who bowed their heads at her: she was the only female there.

Some of the Elves still looked put out that Elrond had asked her to come. From their behaviour, Galatea could tell that they thought it would have been appropriate for her to refuse Elrond's invitation. There was no way in hell that she would let such prejudiced behaviour stop her, especially if it meant being in the same room as Boromir. Also, she knew how the Council would end and she knew what part she wanted to have in _this_ end.

Elrond was the last to enter and he went straight to the point.

"Strangers from distant lands, friends of old, you were summoned here to answer the threat of Mordor. Middle Earth stands upon the brink of destruction. None can escape it. You will unite or you will fall. Each race is bound to this fate, to this _one_ doom. Bring forth the Ring, Frodo."

Galatea steadied herself in her seat maybe a bit more excitedly than she was expected. Everyone was waiting to see this notorious ring, but she, she knew what that was all about. Yet she still wanted to see the Ring with her eyes.

Frodo rose from his seat and walked solemnly to the centre of the balcony, where, with his hand shaking slightly, he put his hand in his pocket and carefully placed a little band of gold on the stone table.

_Such a little thing._ Galatea thought, not tearing her eyes from the sight. The girl gasped, horrified. She knew those words: her own love was going to say those exact words in a matter of few months.

"So it is true…" she barely heard Boromir's whisper. Next to her, Aragorn turned his head slightly towards the Man of Gondor.

As Frodo sat back, gaining a nod of approval from Gandalf, Galatea looked up and glanced at the Man, knowing that her eyes held the same desire those of Boromir held.

She held her breath and forced herself to look away, glad that her love was standing, ready to talk. He was such a better view than a band of gold, anyway.

"In a dream…" Boromir started and Galatea felt his voice on her skin. "I saw the Eastern sky grow dark. And in the West pearls of lightning… a voice was crying… 'The doom is near at hand. Isildur's bane is found.'" Galatea could not tear her eyes off Boromir. She saw his body moving slowly, in a trance, as he held out his hand towards the Ring. "Isildur's bane…" he whispered.

Galatea and Elrond jumped on their feet at the same time. "Boromir!" they both cried, but winced when Gandalf rose and spoke in a language that made Galatea retreat in her seat in fear. Frodo was scared as well. Boromir held back his hand and stepped backward, his eyes wide as if he had been just injured. One of the Dwarves fidgeted in his seat, his axe at the ready and his head jerking in every direction, Elrond put his hand on his temple as if he was trying to fight off a painful headache and one of the Elves closed his eyes painfully.

Suddenly it was over. Gandalf was still on his feet, but the light was back.

Elrond glared at the wizard. "Never before has any voice uttered this tongue here in Imladris." The Elven king reproached.

Gandalf bowed his head, but still spoke defiantly. "I do not ask your pardon, Master Elrond, for the Black Speech of Mordor may yet be heard in every corner of the West!" he glanced at Boromir. "The Ring is altogether evil."

Boromir held his eyes so Gandalf moved back to his seat. "Ah, it is a gift!" the Man from Gondor said and the wizard again turned to him. Galatea was surprised to find herself thinking the same. If she had the Ring, Boromir would surely be hers! "A gift to the foes of Mordor! Why not use this Ring? Long has my father, the Steward of Gondor, kept the forces of Mordor at bay! By the blood of our people, your lands kept safe! Give Gondor the weapon of the Enemy! Let us use it against Him!"

"You cannot wield it! None of us can!" Aragorn cried and Boromir turned to him with a glare. "The One Ring answers to Sauron alone! It has no other master!"

Aragorn's words snapped Galatea out of her trance. How could she have thought about taking the Ring, especially knowing what that awful thing would do to her love?

Boromir was facing Aragorn defiantly, clearly hurt that the only other Man in this bunch of Elves was against him. Galatea wondered how Aragorn was feeling: looking straight at the Man that he remembered a toddler and telling him off. Nevertheless, the Ranger was adamant and held Boromir's fierce gaze with a meekness that was strange for anyone but Galatea to see.

"And what would a Ranger know of this matter?"

The blond Elf behind Boromir jumped on his feet, glaring. _Legolas!_ Galatea thought, but she knew what he was going to say, so she frowned. "This is no mere Ranger!" Legolas reproached. Boromir turned to him sharply, obviously wondering how this Elf dared to speak to him in such a defiant tone. "This is Aragorn son of Arathorn; you owe him your allegiance!"

Legolas was triumphant, while Aragorn glared at him, ashamed. Galatea knew that he felt almost naked at having his heritage thrown at the Steward's son's face in that blunt way. In addition, Frodo's amazed look was not helping at all. On her part, Galatea was seething with rage. She would have no one speak to Boromir that way!

"Aragorn?" Boromir was looking at the other Man, in a mix of irony and surprise. "This is Isildur's Heir?"

"And Heir to the Throne of Gondor." Legolas added still both reproaching and triumphant.

Galatea felt pain in her heart seeing Boromir's humiliated expression. He still tried to hide his humiliation by bearing a defiant face as he stared at Aragorn, but the hurt was visible. And it pained her as much as it pained the Man sitting next to her.

"_Avudad_, Legolas." Aragorn said weakly.

Legolas ignored him and kept standing, challenging Boromir with his eyes. The Man turned to him again. "Gondor has no king." The Steward's son said firmly and walked back to his seat. "Gondor needs no king."

As he sat down, Galatea smiled at him and he responded, but his weak smile vanished the moment she put her hand on Aragorn's forearm to give the Ranger some comfort. She dared not hope: was Boromir jealous? But why would he be jealous of her, a mere girl from another world? She probably just freaked him out!

There was silence for a few moments, and then Gandalf spoke again. "Aragorn is right. You cannot wield it."

"You have only one choice." Said Elrond sternly. "The Ring must be destroyed."

One of the Dwarves (_Gimli!_ Galatea thought with a smile) rose from his seat boldly. "What are we waiting for?" and he hit the stone table with his axe.

For a moment, Galatea saw a lidless eye, surrounded by flame, and it made her shiver.

Gimli was on the floor, his axe shattered in pieces. His eyes were on the untouched Ring still on the stone table where it was before the powerful blow.

"The Ring cannot be destroyed, Gimli son of Glòin, by any craft we here possess." Elrond explained gravely. "The Ring was made in fire of Mount Doom: only there it can be unmade. And must be taken deep into Mordor and cast back into the fire chaos from where it once came. One of you must do this."

Again, no one dared to speak, but Galatea looked at Boromir, knowing that he was going to talk his mind about this. And indeed the Captain General of Gondor spoke, his finger massaging his brow. "One does not simply walk into Mordor. Its Black Gates are guarded by more than just Orcs, there is evil there that does not sleep. The Great Eye… is ever watchful. Tis an abandoned wasteland, riddled with fire and ash and dust. The very air you breathe is poisonous foam. Not with ten thousand men could you do this. It is folly."

Galatea sighed. Oh, if they just knew… if they just knew how much Boromir was right…

"Have you heard nothing of what Lord Elrond has just said?" once again, Legolas was on his feet, challenging Boromir as if he was an idiot. Galatea frowned: the matter at hand was already difficult without them fighting. And how mad she was when they spoke this way to Boromir! "The Ring must be destroyed!"

Gimli growled. "And I suppose you think you're the one to do it!"

"And if we fail what next?" Boromir asked fiercely, rising from his seat as well. "What happens when Sauron gets back what is his?"

"I will be dead before I see the Ring in the hands of an Elf!" Gimli shouted. Everyone stood, shouting as well: everyone but Galatea who rolled her eyes and stayed calmly on her seat next to that now empty of Aragorn. "No one trusts an Elf!"

Gandalf shook his head and Frodo glanced over at the Ring, worried.

Galatea waited and the wizard too joined the heated discussion. She knew that if she didn't do something, then they would be at each other's throats in a heartbeat.

She slowly rose from her seat and stepped forward, unnoticed. Then, when their voices started to make her ears ring…

"_EVERYBODY JUST SHUT UP!_" she screamed at the top of her voice.

Of course they all whimpered.

Silence filled the balcony and Galatea held their incredulous stares. No one of them had ever thought that a woman would speak her mind. She searched Boromir's eyes, worried that he might be as disgusted as the Elves, but the Man seemed amazed, somehow curious about who this woman was to dare screaming in such a fashion.

With clenched teeth, Galatea frowned and folded her arms.

"What the bloody hell are you doing!" she exclaimed. "Trust men to discuss this thoroughly without killing each other!" she shook her head, took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. "Don't you see? You're behaving this way because the Ring is getting to you! Now, you all calm down, or it's useless to speak of this matter any longer!"

It took a while for her words to get to them. When they had all sat down, Galatea sat as well.

"Lady Galatea, you speak with great wisdom." Elrond said with a deep sigh.

"I'm not wise, Lord Elrond." Galatea said, sounding still a bit offended. "I just _know_." she paused. "I apologize for my manners. I'm not from around here and it will take me a while to get used to your ways."

"You need not apologize." Gandalf intervened. "For you are right. We all let ourselves go, exactly as you said. So, back to the present subject… about the Ring…"

"I will take it." Galatea smiled encouragingly at Frodo and winked. Feeling bolder, the Hobbit stepped forward. "I will take the Ring to Mordor." Again the stares of the others made Frodo feel small and helpless, so he avoided their eyes, but spoke nevertheless. "Though… I do not know the way."

As Gandalf straightened himself and stepped towards Frodo, Galatea smiled. She knew exactly what was going to happen. "I will help you bear this burden, Frodo Baggins, as long as it is yours to bear." Gandalf promised while standing behind the Hobbit in a protective manner.

Then it was Aragorn's turn to stand. "If by my life or death, I can protect you, I will." The Ranger walked forward and knelt in front of the Hobbit, who clearly felt embarrassed by such an attention. "You have my sword."

"And you have my bow." Legolas added.

"And my axe." Gimli concluded.

Boromir looked thoughtful as walked towards the little group. "You carry the fates of us all, little one." He said slowly. "But if this is indeed the will of the Council, then Gondor will see it done."

Galatea rose too. She could see those behind the group stiffen. "I will come too." She said, her eyes daring anyone to try to change her mind. She looked straight at Elrond, looking for his approval.

His expression stern, the Elven king nodded.

"But… but she's a woman!" one of the Elves protested.

She turned to him with a snarl, a harsh rebuke ready on her lips, but Gandalf chuckled. "And a woman who has proven herself much wiser than us all. We could have much use for Lady Galatea's knowledge. I for one would be honoured to have her with us and I'm sure our fine Men here would love to put their swords at her service."

Aragorn and Boromir straightened themselves so hastily that Galatea nearly chuckled at how perfect they seemed together: King and Steward. She would see that they become just that.

"Of course I will!" they said at once.

Galatea grinned. "You two are adorable." Both Men looked at her perplexed that she had associated such an attribute to them.

"Hey!" someone shouted. Sam suddenly appeared at Frodo's side. "Mr Frodo's not going anywhere without me."

"No indeed, it is hardly possible to separate you even when he is summoned to a secret Council and you are not." Sam blushed at the gentle scold Elrond gave him, and kept his eyes down even if Frodo was trying to hold back a chuckle.

"Wait!" shouted another high-pitched voice. "We're coming too!" Galatea smiled at Merry and Pippin as the two Hobbits ran to the group and made their way next to Frodo, with Lily following them closely. "You'll have to send us home all tied in a sack to stop us."

"Anyway." Pippin said. "You'll need people of intelligence in this sort of mission. Quest. Thing."

As she opened her arms for Lily to come and be petted, Galatea met Boromir's eyes and they had to hide their grins. "But that'll leave you out, Pip." Merry said.

"Ten companions…" Elrond looked straight in each of their faces, then nodded. "So be it. You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring."

"Great!" Pippin beamed. "Where are we going?"


	4. Chapter 4

The next few days were a blur of arrangements, heated discussions and plans about the best road to take.

During the following month, the dresses Elrond had ordered for Galatea when she first arrived in Rivendell were sent to the human girl; it was a pleasant surprise to see also some pants and travel clothes more resembling those of a man: Elrond had ordered them to be made after the Council, when he had remembered the unusual clothes Galatea had been wearing, thinking that the girl would feel more comfortable with those.

She felt even better when some scouts found her backpack in the river. She didn't have much, because most of her things had been destroyed by the water of the river, but she was amazed at how small, insignificant things, like a pocketknife, could be so important in a different world, especially since one of the few things she was able to recover was her sleeping bag.

Galatea spent most of her time with the Fellowship, as the ten of them got acquainted with each other.

She asked Aragorn and Legolas to teach her how to use her surroundings and Boromir taught her how to ride a horse. The two of them even engaged in a very interesting sparring session: Boromir was very pleased to find out that Galatea was a quick learner when he taught her how to wield a sword. Sure, she had never _fought_ an opponent, but it was a start. In fact, he and Aragorn were so pleased about that that they took her prop of Excalibur to the armoury and had it sharpened but also chose a smaller sword for her, because they made the valid point that a woman was still a bit weaker than a man and it would be better if she had something else to fight with, if she to lost Excalibur.

Of course, she had asked Boromir to teach her how to ride a horse and wield a sword so that she could spend as much time as possible with him.

She was also glad that they took seriously her demand of being treated as they would if she was a man. She would not have them losing their time in pampering her, also because she didn't really need that, where she came from, she'd been camping ever since she was a little girl. She was also very proud of the fact that she could adapt to a situation very quickly.

The First thing the Fellowship did after the Council was to gather to have a briefing as to what they were supposed to do. Gandalf was adamant that, despite their differences, the ten of them tried to work together at their best.

On her part, Galatea was very happy to see that they took the news that she was going with them very lightly. She hadn't been able to hear what Legolas and Gimli and the Hobbits had to say about her going with them during the Council.

The Hobbits were a little surprised that a woman would want to go with them but, as they too didn't know how to fight, didn't say anything and just hoped out loud that she would find their company enjoyable.

Although she'd never liked Legolas much, she was pleased when he told her that he was at her service for anything she needed and that she could come to him with whatever questions she might have.

Gimli was sceptical at first, but she managed to prove herself to him, when she punched him right in the face when he called her a 'piece of unwanted luggage that they would do better to leave behind'.

Arwen was very worried when she received news of Galatea's decision to join the Fellowship, but she respected that. On the eve of the departure, she hugged Galatea right on the balcony of her rooms. "Be careful, Galatea, you're like a sister to me already."

"Don't worry." Galatea grinned. "I'll be sure Aragorn won't look at other women. Not that he will ever do so."

Arwen grinned back at that. "I count on you then. But do not get distracted or I'll have Estel speak to your Man of Gondor on your behalf." they both giggled.

In the garden, Aragorn and Boromir were strolling together discussing once again the path to take when they heard the giggles and looked up. Arwen and Galatea caught their puzzled looks and burst out laughing, retreating back in the room.

"It seems that the ladies are having fun." Aragorn said shaking his head with a smile.

"Indeed." Boromir answered with a fond smile on his lips. "Galatea seems to be better since I first met her. She seemed a bit, I don't know, maybe 'depressed' is a strong word but now she's glowing."

"Of course she is. I'm glad she got over the fact that she most probably won't be able to go back to her world. You've heard her story. It's like a dream for her to be with us."

"That one's unbelievable, but then, she did predict that we were going to arrive at nightfall here in Rivendell and we did."

"May I ask you something, Boromir?"

Boromir hesitated for just a moment. A conversation he had had with Galatea a few days earlier came back to his mind.

_He had grown accustomed at chaperoning Galatea. The girl still said that she didn't like to be treated like a princess, but she clearly longed for his company. He had been mad, at first, when he had seen her touching Aragorn's arm after his outburst at the Council, but then any idiot could see that she sought his company more than she did Aragorn. And Boromir couldn't deny that he was flattered by the way she listened to him as if no one else was there with them even in a room full of people._

_That night, as he accompanied her to her bedroom, she had asked of his relationship with Aragorn. _

"_Legolas came to apologize, the other day." Boromir told her. "He said it was not his place to announce Aragorn as my king." _

"_It wasn't." Galatea agreed nodding._

_Boromir shook his head. "Nay, it was not, but I suppose someone had to do it. Whether for good or ill, he has seen the deed done. _

"_Arwen told me that Aragorn is distressed with him."_

"_And why is that?" Boromir asked, surprised._

"_Aragorn thinks that, by parading his heritage in front of the Council, he made a fool of Gondor's Captain General." _

_Boromir sighed. "The truth is that my king…" Boromir said the word as though it left a bad taste in his mouth. "… made it possible for him to make a fool of me. He, raised by the most honourable of Elves, lied to me."_

_Galatea looked up at him. "But he didn't."_

"_Pardon?"_

_Galatea caught a bang of her hair and pulled it behind her hear. "He only omitted his heritage. He said he was a friend to Gandalf the Grey, and he is." _

"_Still, it was a deception." Boromir protested. "He could've told me when we first met." _

"_I do agree that Aragorn and Legolas have both treated you poorly, but would you go to someone and tell him straight in the face that you are his king? Aragorn doesn't like his heritage more than you like the fact that someone would come and take the rule of Gondor from your family's hands, since the House of Hurin has cared for your land better than anyone would."_

_Boromir stiffened. "Gondor has waited for over nine centuries for her king and when or if he comes to her… she deserves more than a dissembler."_

"_Aragorn is a good man; could you trust me on that? I would never have the House of the Stewards dishonoured."_

_Boromir's smile lit his eyes at that, but it soon faded. "You believe I should grant Aragorn a second chance?"_

"_Not for his sake, but for yours." Galatea said quickly. "He would never take Gondor from you. He'll be thrilled to have you as his Steward. He's very fond of you, you know."_

_Boromir sighed deeply. "If you ask me so, Galatea, I'll grant Aragorn a second chance."_

_The answer was the sweetest smile he had ever seen._

"Boromir?" Aragorn called, looking at Boromir expectantly. The Man of Gondor hesitated just a moment longer: he had promised to give Aragorn a second chance to Galatea, so he took a deep breath and nodded at him. The other Man brightened instantly. "Are you married?"

That was the last question he was expecting. Boromir frowned and glanced at Aragorn as if he was crazy. "Nay, I'm not. Why do you ask?"

"Curiosity." Aragorn said. "I'm not married either, but I am in love."

The easiness Boromir was starting to feel, seeing that his king was actually a carefree Man, much more similar than he had thought to the Man Galatea had described to him, was taken from him. He didn't know exactly what made him so angry, but his smile vanished instantly and he glared at Aragorn.

"Yes, I've seen that." Aragorn frowned in clear confusion at that. Why was Boromir suddenly so mad at him? They seemed to be doing fine just now! "You're in love with Galatea."

"Galatea?" Aragorn's eyes grew wide. Was that the problem? Was Boromir jealous of Galatea? Oh, she would be so pleased to hear this! Aragorn thought, but he quickly waved away the other Man's worries. "Oh, no!" he exclaimed with a laugh. "Galatea is great and I'm sure she would make a perfect spouse, but no, it's not her." Aragorn shook his head, grinning madly. He was so glad he could help that girl; encouraged by the fact that Boromir was clearly more relaxed, Aragorn leaned to the other Man's ear and whispered. "It's Arwen." he confessed. "Don't tell anyone, it's not exactly a secret, Lord Elrond knows already, but it's still pretty difficult."

Boromir nodded, his firm face letting Aragorn know that he wouldn't give his secret away.

"Why?" Aragorn asked after a few moments of silence. He wanted to investigate the matter further, so that he could tell Arwen first and see if he should tell Galatea. He didn't want to give her any false hope. "Are you in love with Galatea?"

"I'm not!" Boromir answered quickly. "She's certainly dear to me, but I am not in love with her. However, I do feel responsible for her! Since she's here, alone, with no family to care for her, I feel it is my duty to look after her and be sure she settles here nicely. I'd like to take her to Minas Tirith, there I could look after her when I'm back home."

Aragorn nodded, although he thought that Boromir wasn't being completely honest with him, whether to keep his feelings to himself or because he wasn't aware of them yet. If it was the latter, he'd have to be extra-careful, he couldn't go and tell Galatea.

"I'll help you with that." he told Boromir, because the Steward's son's reasoning was right, whatever the reason.

"As an answer to your question about me being married…" Boromir told him, remembering that he hadn't fully answered. "I for one never found a woman who would please me enough; do you know what I mean? They all care for the Steward's son, not for Boromir himself. I wouldn't want that. So I haven't gotten married yet, although Father insists that I do."

Aragorn nodded, he knew perfectly what Boromir meant. He himself had received that kind of treatment, when he had gone to live with what was left of his own people, of the Men of Nùmenor: the women wouldn't let him go anywhere without trying to make a move on him, since he was the Heir of Isildur, fated to be king of Gondor.

"But Galatea is not like that." he told Boromir. "She's sincere."

"That she is." Boromir agreed. "She behaves oddly sometimes, but she is pure. I'm glad she will be with us on the quest."

"I am too." Aragorn told Boromir and once again they strolled through Elrond's gardens, King and Steward now at complete ease with each other.

Once again, Arwen and Galatea watched them from their hidden spot in the balcony. When Galatea yawned and told Arwen she would do better to go to bed because she had to get up early the following morning, Arwen nodded, hugged her again and, when Galatea had gone, smiled to herself. Her acute Elven hearing had heard every word Aragorn and Boromir had said. She wondered if Estel knew she was listening and that was why he'd asked Boromir whether he was interested in Galatea.


	5. Chapter 5

The following morning, the Fellowship departed from Rivendell very early.

The group was formed by the ten of them plus Bill the Pony and Lily.

Elrond had taken Boromir and Aragorn aside and told them that their fates were bound now. He also asked them to look after Galatea, whom the Elven king saw as a daughter already, and Boromir eagerly offered a home for the girl and her dog in Minas Tirith and vowed that he himself would see that she had everything she needed.

That was why Elrond had ordered for a complete set of things the girl might need to be made for Galatea and also why Lily was going with the Fellowship instead of staying with the Elves as Arwen had suggested for her protection.

The Elven princess hugged Galatea tightly, she recommended her to the Fellowship – even though the girl was rolling her eyes – and then the group left Rivendell.

The first month of that journey was not so different, to Galatea, from a holiday.

She was very pleased that the Fellowship had taken seriously her request to be treated as a pair and not like a weakling that needed looking after. There was only an episode, a couple of weeks after they'd set off from Rivendell, when Galatea woke up early to find out that they had decided at the very beginning of the quest to let her sleep and not count her for keeping guard during the night. The idea that people had to take turns and stay awake for a few hours during the night was so far from anything Galatea knew that it had never even crossed her mind, despite the fact that she'd always read about it in fantasy books.

When she found out that they'd decided to let her sleep and not count her for turns, Galatea got so mad that she shouted at the other nine for hours, and rejected every single objection, even Boromir's. They managed to calm her down when Frodo politely pointed out that the most trained of them (Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas, Gandalf and Gimli) could stay awake for the first part of the night, while the Hobbits and Galatea would get up early in the morning, which was easier for the five of them, and stay awake before dawn. Sam even offered to take the last turn, so that he could make breakfast for everyone.

To her own surprise, Galatea grew fond of every single member of the Fellowship.

Lily, of course, was her beloved dog and she would never have her out of her sight unless the Irish Setter was in company of someone she trusted.

Of course, she took every chance to stay with Boromir, who was very protective of her, and Aragorn was like an older brother with that mischievous glint in him that had the Ranger act like a female friend would.

The three mortals had created a sort of group, which was open to anyone, but was still somehow exclusive to the three of them, like the Hobbits. Galatea loved the Hobbits like younger brothers, almost sons, Merry and Pippin especially. Frodo was kind but he was clearly wary of Boromir and Galatea didn't like for anyone to think poorly of her own love and Sam was too obsessed with Frodo and it was very difficult to have a decent conversation with him without the gardener rushing to his master. Merry and Pippin would always stay around her and Boromir playing with Lily while they followed Gandalf's lead and they would practice with their small swords during breaks.

Legolas and Gimli were great, Galatea had never considered them much while reading the book but now she relied on the Dwarf for a good laugh when she felt upset. Gimli addressed to her with 'Lassie', since he addressed to Aragorn and Boromir with 'Laddie'.

Gimli and Legolas didn't get along at first, but soon their bickering became one of the most awaited sources of entertainment for the Fellowship. Merry and Pippin would make them start bickering whenever any of them was feeling down.

Gandalf was kind to her, but she confirmed her initial idea that he looked after Aragorn and Frodo too much and was rude to the other members of the Fellowship, herself excluded: that offended her, because she wouldn't have anyone, Boromir least of all, treated poorly.

Aragorn was very interested when Galatea told him that Lily's breed was that of hunting dogs, particularly gifted to hunt birds. He took it as his own personal challenge to train Lily so that he, Boromir, Gimli and Legolas could have a valuable help while hunting dinner for the Fellowship.

Galatea was very happy to see that her pet was enjoying herself. She knew that Lily had always been a bit down her standards, seeing as she lived in the city even if she was a dog made for running after birds. At first, Lily would get really tired after a day of running around and once or twice Aragorn and Boromir had to take turns to take the dog in their arms. It didn't take more than a week, however, for Lily to get used to the new routine and dose her almost endless energies so that she wouldn't collapse.

On the other hand, it took a while for Galatea to get used to waking up at dawn and march all day. She refused to complain, even though the first few days she felt as she would die of fatigue.

On the 8th of February, the Fellowship had just settled camp and Galatea laughed at seeing Merry and Pippin assaulting Boromir playfully. Sitting not far from her, Aragorn too laughed at the sight and petted Lily, who laid lazily, her head leant on the Ranger's thigh. Gimli took the plate of sausages that Sam was offering him and the Hobbit rushed to give Frodo his meal.

"We must hold this course west of the Misty Mountains for forty days." Gandalf informed them when they all sat down to eat. "If our luck holds, the Gap of Rohan will still be open to us." Galatea stopped her hand in mid-air and she looked up. "From there our road turns east… to Mordor."

Galatea nearly choked on her meal. Aragorn, sitting next to her, turned his head to her and Gandalf looked up from his plate to glance at her.

"What's wrong, Lady Galatea?" Sam asked, giving a sausage to Lily. He was the only one Galatea hadn't managed to convince to address her without titles. In all fairness, he addressed the others with 'Master' before their names, so Galatea couldn't really say that he was too respectful of her.

Galatea blushed furiously when she noticed Boromir look up, Merry and Pippin still on top of him. To stop her from choking, Aragorn had had to hit her on the back and she'd spat her sausage on the ground. "I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed breathlessly. "I forgot! The Gap of Rohan is closed already!"

"What?" everyone gasped.

She hung her head in shame. "I'm so sorry…" she repeated. "I should have told you so sooner!"

Gandalf shook his head. The others smiled and resumed their meal. "Galatea, you know what's going to happen, but I do not think that most of what you know is going to happen. Your presence here will change many events. However, you should not feel responsible for every bad thing that happens. It is not your fault."

Galatea sighed and looked up at the Fellowship for support.

Gimli winked at her. "Gandalf's right, lassie!"

Legolas and Frodo nodded smiling and Pippin and Merry laughed whole-heartedly.

Someone put his arm around her shoulders and she, who had thought of Aragorn, held her breath at seeing Boromir smiling at her. "We all agree with Mithrandir." the Man told her.

Galatea smiled back and he lent down and pressed his lips on hers…

Aragorn ruffled her hair and she snapped out of her thoughts, blushing furiously. Boromir had already turned and was speaking to Gandalf. "What now? What chances do we have, with the Gap of Rohan closed?"

"We'll take the Pass of Caradhras." Gandalf answered and glanced at the white top of the mountain just above them. They all followed his eyes and shivered; no one dared say a word. That was the only option.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note:**** Thanks to Dork Dog and Glory Bee for their fantastic reviews! You have no idea how much I appreciate when people write constructive criticism! If it's constructive it always welcome and positive to me! **

**On another note, I was really glad that you disagreed with the idea of Galatea having a super power, because it was just an idea which I didn't even like that much. I was not very keen on giving her a super power but if the idea was appreaciated I would've tried it... Not only Galatea would turn into a Mary-Sue (and I absolutely do NOT want that!) but also it would be so very difficult to describe her using the power! **

**I took notice of Dork Dog's and Glory Bee's wonderful reviews and I am now reloading the chapter, hoping that I managed to make it better! I didn't really mind spending some time correcting the chapter, also because I like the challenge of meeting my reader's wishes! **

**Hope that you'll like this version better!**

So they hiked up to the Red Horn.

The day was bright and the wind was mild, so they were walking rather fast. There was a long descending path ahead of them and they were very glad about that.

Aragorn, Galatea and Boromir walked side by side. They had taken the habit of walking together, like the Hobbits did right in front of them, while Gandalf was usually ahead of the group with Legolas and Gimli, the Elf always scouting as if to show the Dwarf that he was better than him.

Those two were the only ones in the Fellowship for whom the others had no hope they would get along some day. Galatea was glad to know differently.

Bill the Pony walked obediently behind Sam and Lily, who had never seen the snow before they'd met Boromir, was jumping all around them excited as always. She was fine, despite the chill, since Arwen herself had sewed four small shoes to protect Lily's paws.

On their third day on Caradhras, while hiking at a good pace, Frodo had innocently asked how she was going to be addressed to when she would be in Minas Tirith, causing a row between Aragorn and Boromir which flattered Galatea immensely. Aragorn strongly claimed the right to call her sister, saying that Elrond had already told him that he loved Galatea like she was his own child and he was Aragorn's adoptive father as well, and Boromir had risen rather defiantly declaring that Denethor was going to welcome the girl with open arms the moment they would be in the White City. Galatea wasn't so sure about that. Personally she thought that Denethor would just disapprove.

She laughed at the heated exchange and ran forward to catch up with Lily. She loved the mountain and had very few chances of hiking in the snow like this in the past, so she was very excited, almost as excited as Lily was.

"Frodo!"

She turned, as did all of them, to see Aragorn help Frodo up.

Apparently, the Hobbit had tripped in the fresh snow and fallen face first on the ground, sliding down a few meters, right on Aragorn's path.

The Hobbit immediately went to check for the Ring, which he now bore around his neck with a golden chain.

Galatea froze as Boromir picked up the Ring from the snow and held it out in front of his eyes. She knew what was going to happen.

"It is a strange fate to feel so many fears and doubts over so small a thing."

Galatea's heart skipped a bit, realizing that she felt exactly the same way of her love. Since they had left Rivendell, her mind had endlessly asked her what was going to be of her now. Would Boromir fall in love with her? Would Denethor really welcome her with open arms, like Boromir claimed? Now that she was there… would she be able to save them all? The Ring would help her with that, wouldn't it? She knew its power. She knew it could give her the power to help them all!

"Such a little thing…" she whispered, echoing Boromir's words without even paying attention to her surroundings any more.

Unaware of Gandalf's voice calling her name, Galatea walked towards the Man of Gondor. He still had the Ring in his hand.

"Boromir." she called softly.

Boromir looked up, startled as if he had been pulled out of some sort of trance. When he met Galatea's eyes, he tilted his head. He looked confused.

"Boromir." Aragorn growled sternly. "Give the Ring to Frodo."

The Man of Gondor glanced down at the Hobbit, who was staring at him with both suspicion and worry.

The rest of the Fellowship was watching silently.

"As you wish." Boromir said handing the golden chain out to the Hobbit, who took it hastily back. "I care not." the Man ruffled Frodo's hair with a quick laugh and turned.

Galatea examined him as he walked past her to re-join the group. Boromir's grey eyes were filled with mixed emotions, which she was shocked to understand completely. Why did Frodo have to bear the Ring? He clearly didn't want that burden. Why couldn't someone stronger than him take it?

The weather got worse almost suddenly, taking Galatea's good mood away. It seemed ages ago that they'd all joked together, instead of just a few hours. The old irritating sensation Galatea felt whenever something was up took her again. It felt as if it was her time of the month… and it didn't help her one bit. She felt as if the world was against her even if she was the only one with its weight on her shoulders.

She watched the others, who seemed as affected by the foul weather too. In a matter of minutes it was very hard to even move and they all had to slow their pace in order to dig their way through the snow.

Gandalf was still in the lead and was apparently unfazed by the weather, although it looked like he was putting his efforts in trying to encourage them. He was failing miserably. Lily had taken refuge under Bill the Pony, her tail between her legs. The Hobbits walked in a line behind Bill and Lily, so that the Pony would create a path for them. Boromir was right in front of the small line, leading Bill while he pushed the snow away with his shield. Gimli grumbled more than usual, understandably so, since one could see only he helmet when he walked at the front of the line. Legolas was the one who could walk best because of his light boots and clothes but he too seemed affected by the weather. They started trying to vent their weariness by bickering again about which race was better, Dwarves or Elves.

Whenever Galatea was upset for whatever reason, she would usually seek someone who apparently didn't share her irritation and try to make said person as mad as she was. This time, Galatea took Aragorn aside, as he was in the rear guard and had been silent ever since Frodo had slipped. She wasted no time trying to sugar-coat it. "I saw you!" she accused. "You had your hand on the handle of your sword! You were ready to attack him!"

She thought she knew why he'd done that. Aragorn had, after all, sworn to protect the Ringbearer from any danger, inside or outside the Fellowship. However, she couldn't help but feel so angry and frustrated.

Aragorn stared at her, confused. He frowned as he realised she was serious like she had never been before. She was usually kind, a gentle word ready for anyone who needed comfort. Yet, Aragorn knew that she was like this because Boromir was there and the Man unknowingly kept sadness at bay. However, Aragorn had sworn to protect Frodo even against the other members of the Fellowship if that was the case.

"He was drawn to the Ring." it saddened him to speak so bluntly to her, but she had to understand. "I swore to protect the Ringbearer and I will do it, no matter how sad it makes me, if the danger comes from inside the Fellowship!"

"He can't help it!" she retorted grimly. "It's doing it to each and every one of us. That's how it works. And it's tormenting him much more than it is you. I'd like to see you trying as hard as he is."

"Yet I've seen no other so drawn to it as he was." Aragorn spat through gritted teeth.

He shouldn't have said that and they both knew that. Galatea stiffened and had trouble keeping her voice down. "Sorry there's not enough Númenorean blood in _our_ veins for you to think of us as your equals!"

With that she turned on her heels and walked to Boromir's side, taking Pippin from his arms (the Hobbits were too short to be fine in such a weather; Gimli had some difficulties too but he had refused to be carried), and watched Aragorn take Frodo and Sam.

When she'd adjusted Pippin, Galatea looked up and saw Legolas walking ahead of them, not at all weary because of the weather, his booths only slightly wet. The sight bothered her. He was tall enough to take one of the Hobbits himself, instead of leaving Aragorn, Boromir and herself trying to heave them. The Hobbits might be small, but they still had two arms!

"There's a foul voice in the air." the Elven prince said.

Gandalf stiffened. "It's Saruman!" he cried.

Aragorn looked at the sky, understandably not heeding of his earlier argument with Galatea. "He's trying to bring down the mountain! Gandalf, we have to turn back!"

Galatea gasped and looked for the Wizard's eyes. "_NO!_" Gandalf cried to Aragorn. He straightened and tried to block Saruman's incantation by chanting his own spell and waving his staff.

A lightening hit the top of the mountain and they barely had the time to step back. They were hit by a powerful landslide.

They resurfaced gradually from under the snow, Gimli growling like a maniac and Galatea, Aragorn and Boromir taking the Hobbits out of the snow at the first occasion.

Frustrated and cold, checking that Lily was fine under Bill, Galatea glanced at the exhausted forms of her companions.

"We must get off the mountain!" Boromir was shouting to let them hear him above the howling wind. "Make for the Gap of Rohan and take the West road to my city!"

"The Gap of Rohan takes us too close to Isengard!" Aragorn protested.

"If we cannot pass over the mountain, let's pass under it!" Gimli put in, his voice a low growl. "Let's go through the Mines of Moria!"

Gandalf hesitated and glanced at Galatea, who looked back at him, her eyes imploring. She had told him what his destiny would be if he ventured in those mines. The wizard sighed and avoided her eyes. "Let the Ringbearer decide." Gandalf settled on.

Frodo looked up at him, scared. Galatea figured that he felt that too much of a responsibility to take. She couldn't really blame him but she was soaked and Lily was scared and they all wished to get out of here as soon as possible.

"We cannot stay here!" Boromir shouted. "This will be the death of the Hobbits!"

"Frodo?" Gandalf called.

Frodo hesitated, but did not take his eyes from Gandalf. "We will go through the mines."

That choice got him a loud beaming from Gimli.

"So be it." Gandalf said, nodding. He wasn't pleased.

They were all very happy with this decision and the moment they were down the mountain, Gimli, who usually stayed in the back of the line, left his place to walk in front of them next to Gandalf. He was very emotional at the idea of finally setting foot in the ancient Dwarven realm.

The others weren't as keen as he was but their pace hastened at the mere idea of leaving the mountain.

The moment they were out of the snow, they were so weary that they decided to stop for the night.

Galatea took the opportunity to change her soaked clothes at once. Legolas waited not far from the bush behind which she was changing, safeguarding her as Gandalf had requested.

When she was done, the Elven prince chaperoned her back to the camp, which was out of eye and earshot.

"I hope you can forgive me for bringing this up, Galatea." Legolas said politely, pausing after just a few steps. "I wished to discuss your argument with Aragorn. I couldn't help but overhear."

Now that she was off the mountain and dry, Galatea felt that the anger she'd felt earlier had realised her heart from its cruel grasp. For a moment, she wondered what had caused it. The Ring? Caradhras? Or simply her time of the month, which was particularly unpleasant when she was camping with nine men?

"What about it?" she asked wearily, her hands shaking with fatigue.

"I think you were too hard on him." Legolas said. "You know that he swore to protect Frodo as we all did."

"I know." Galatea answered. Now her voice was shaking as well. "I was so mad…"

"We all were. I don't like the Dwarf but I am ashamed that we let ourselves go and made it more difficult than it already was for all of us."

"I think that sometimes I force people to think like me, disregarding the fact that their opinions are just as good as mine. I shouldn't expect people not to be suspicious of Boromir just because I am not, should I?"

Legolas smiled. "I don't think you can help it. How could you when you're in love with him?" Galatea looked horrified. "Aragorn told me."

Galatea blushed furiously. "It was supposed to be a secret…"

Legolas laughed. "I am no expert in love affairs but I suppose you could've done much worse. Despite the fact that he seems attracted to the Ring, Boromir is a very good catch. He's the firstborn of the Steward of Gondor, whether or not Aragorn decides to claim his heritage, he's still one of the highest authorities in Gondor."

"Yeah… Legolas, that's not why I'm in love with him… I love Boromir, not the Steward's son. I couldn't care less about his money. He could be homeless and I would still love him, especially now that I've actually met him!"

"I know, Aragorn explained that to me." Legolas said. "Boromir is a lucky man for having your love. However, you shouldn't let that cloud your judgement. If you really care about him enough to start a fight with Aragorn for him, then you should help Boromir fight against the Ring."

Galatea and Legolas stayed silent, standing at the edge of the camp.

The other members of the Fellowship watched curiously, wondering what were they doing.

Galatea glanced toward the group, where Aragorn was. "I should apologise, shouldn't I?" she asked softly.

"I certainly think so." Legolas said gently.

They stayed silent another moment, before Galatea giggled. "Who knew Elves would turn out to be such good listeners? And you guys give great advice in love matters too! Arwen is female and also part human, so I got that, but you?"

Legolas watched her run back to camp with a dumbfounded look on his face.


	7. Chapter 7

The following morning, they packed their things and set off exactly like they did every day.

It would take a couple of days to reach Moria.

The general mood was not good when they left their camp but had certainly improved.

Gimli was by far the happiest, telling to anyone who would listen all kind of marvellous tales about Moria. Galatea didn't have the heart to tell him that she knew what had happened to Balin and the Dwarves in Moria. Their mood was already terrible and she didn't want to burden Gimli with the news that there was no Dwarf alive in Moria. She was very fond of the Dwarf.

Legolas, who, regardless of his advices to Galatea, had still been reprimanded by the girl about being a bit selfish sometimes, seemed cheerful enough to help whoever was in need and to even try to be nice to Gimli and listen to his boastful stories about the Dwarven realm they were about to enter.

On her part, Galatea had taken Legolas' advice and had taken Aragorn aside at the first chance, apologising for lashing out at him. She knew he'd done what he thought was right and that he would take no pleasure in taking Boromir's life. It was only right that she apologised to him.

Aragorn waved her apologies away and soon enough they were chatting as if nothing had happened. Galatea was surprised to find out that she was more relieved than she thought she would be. She'd never cared much about him before she was thrown in Middle Earth, but he and Arwen had been her first friends here. She couldn't count Boromir, because he was much more to her than a friend, of course.

Gandalf kept to himself and sometimes mumbled words they couldn't understand when he thought no one was listening. Galatea had informed him of what was going to happen in the Mines but he'd said that the mission was too important to do differently just to save his life. Galatea knew she should've probably argued but she knew he wouldn't die… not _really_, anyway.

Nevertheless, Galatea's mood went from bad to worse in a matter of few hours after just a day. Whatever Gandalf might say, she still felt bad about what was going to happen to him, never mind the fact that he was the one she liked the least in the Fellowship.

In addition, they were heading towards Moria, a place whose name literally meant 'darkness', and there was nothing that scared Galatea more than darkness. At first, she tried to fight her fear off by staying with the Hobbits, who, despite the fact that they were scared too, took upon themselves the difficult task to make the other members of the Fellowship smile. It wasn't working that much and, finally, when the girl started to walk slower and to stay behind, Boromir noticed that Galatea was upset. She always avoided the back of the line, so something was clearly wrong and he took the back guard that Gimli had left to stay near her. He tried to ask why was she distressed, but she wouldn't talk, so he let her be.

Galatea's distress became evident to the other members of the Fellowship and Aragorn began to wonder if it had something to do with their previous argument, never mind the fact that they'd sorted that out. He took lead of Lily, who was now very nervous as well.

When they stopped in front of the doors of Durin, the entrance to the Mines of Moria, Galatea didn't want to wait. She paused enough to have the moonlight make Ithildin shine.

"It says, 'The Doors of Durin, Lord of Moria.'" Gandalf translated the Elvish script on the stone door, tapping his staff on each word while the others watched in awe. "'Say friend and enter.'"

"What does it mean?" Pippin asked curiously.

"It's a riddle." Galatea said quickly. "You need to say the Elvish word for 'friend'. _Mellon!_"

With a grave sound of moving stones, the great stone doors opened and Galatea stood still, with Lily, who for once was not excited, by her side. "Stay close, Lily, don't wander off."

Galatea let most of the Fellowship go ahead of her. She stopped, resting her back on the humid stonewall, not caring that her shirt was now soaked. Lily sat next to her, whining feebly and trembling. Galatea petted her. "Don't be scared, Lily. It's going to be alright." Galatea sighed, knowing that even the dog understood that she was afraid as well.

Aragorn was passing through in that precise moment and heard the girl talk. It sent a pain to his heart to see her so distressed: she was kneeling, hiding her face in Lily's auburn fur. He swallowed, knowing that he wanted to go and comfort her. However, he somehow knew that whatever he could say wouldn't be good enough coming from him. He knew that if there was a chance for her to feel better, Boromir was the one who would have to take it.

The Man was entering last, guiding the Hobbits in like a shepherd. Aragorn watched him and nodded when their eyes met: yes, Galatea was right, Boromir was a good Man and he, Aragorn, had to be honest with himself, because the Ring had been talking to him as well. After all, Boromir had given the Ring back to Frodo. He seemed to be fighting it for now, just like Galatea had said.

After a few steps in the dark, Gimli started to brag about the Dwarven hospitality. He was so happy to be in the ancient realm that he hadn't noticed that the entry hall was dark and obviously uninhabitable.

"Soon, Master Elf, you will enjoy the fabled hospitality of the Dwarves!" he grumbled with his baritone voice, as they all passed through the doors. "Roaring fires, malt beer, ripe meat off the bone! This, my friend, is the home of my cousin Balin." Gimli explained as Gandalf blew softly on the white rock on his staff to have light in that dark place. "And they call it a mine. A mine!"

Boromir looked around, now that moonlight came from the open doors and Gandalf's staff led the way. Galatea didn't want to watch, she knew what he was seeing: Dwarven skeletons, mixed with those of their enemies, goblins.

"This is no mine." Boromir stated. "This is a tomb."

Aragorn, who was nearest to him, elbowed him and tilted his head towards Galatea. The girl came right after them: it had been her to find the password to enter the mines, but now she hesitated, her eyes glancing here and there, her luggage seeming so much bigger than her. As if to make the scene even more pitiful, Lily walked warily right next to her, whining softly, her tail between her legs, not protesting the fact that she had a leash attached to her collar.

"What?" Boromir whispered to Aragorn.

"I think she's scared." Aragorn whispered back. "I don't know about what."

Boromir frowned, confused. Why was Aragorn telling him that? Did he think he hadn't noticed? He glanced at Galatea. "What should I do about it?" he asked. "I tried to ask, but she wouldn't tell me!"

"You know you're the one she trusts the most. You should try and comfort her. Try to find out what she's afraid of."

Boromir knew only that this place frightened him and he hated to be afraid. He was a proud Man of Gondor, the Warden of the White Tower, he wasn't supposed to be scared. However, he hated to see Galatea so distressed more, so he obliged Aragorn and approached the girl.

"Galatea?" he called gently. She nearly jumped and gasped when she saw it was him. Boromir frowned at seeing that she had tears in her eyes. "Are you alright?"

Galatea's hand was shaking when she adjusted a bang of her golden hair. "Yes, sure… I'm fine."

Boromir tilted his head. She had never so blatantly lied to him. In fact, she had never lied to him, not since the first time they'd met, when she was trying to hide the fact that she came from another world. Was she _that_ scared? He spoke softly to her, brushing her cheek with his gloved hand. "We both know that is not true. Are you sure you don't want to tell me, dear one?"

"I…" Galatea hesitated. She didn't want him to think lowly of her but she didn't want him to think that she would hide something from him either. "It's stupid."

She seemed embarrassed and that made Boromir even more confused. "I don't think so, Galatea." he said softly. "Please, tell me."

Galatea bit her own lips. How could she deny him? She might have been able to send away any other member of the Fellowship (as fond as she was of them) but not her own love. "I… I'm afraid of the dark."

Boromir blinked. "Afraid of the dark?"

Blushing furiously, Galatea nodded miserably. How stupid would he think she was? "I… my eyes were sick once, it's called near-sightedness… I could see well only things that were very close to me. I'm cured now, but… I'm still scared when I can't see properly, like in the dark or deep water."

She tried to swallow, but the lump in her throat was too big to allow her to blink back her tears. She felt terrible for not telling him the other reason she was scared. What she'd just told him was true but it wasn't the whole truth. She was also very sad about Gandalf, regardless of the fact that she didn't like the wizard that much… Would Boromir, or anyone in the Fellowship, for that matter, be mad at her when they found out about the Balrog and that she'd known all along?

She jolted when she felt a glowed hand take her own. She glanced up at Boromir. "Stay by me, then, dear one. I won't let anything happen to you. Come, Lily." he added, patting the dog on her head.

The journey went on without anything worth telling happening for the next three days and, since the boys started feeling reassured that they would manage getting out of the mines unhurt, Galatea didn't have the heart to destroy that dream for them, not when Boromir kept his word and never left her alone. In fact, Galatea was elated that she spent most of her time with him holding her hand and comforting both her and Lily, who slept curled up in a ball next to him, with her muzzle on his chest.

She could almost believe that the eleven of them could make it out of Moria alive, all eleven of them… of course, that soon went south when they reached the centre of the Dwarven city and Gimli found Balin's tomb.

They all stopped in the room to pay their respects.

After he'd recovered from the shock of finding his cousin's tomb, Gimli turned to Galatea. "Did you know about this?"

There was no point in lying. Galatea nodded.

Gimli opened his mouth to voice his outrage but Gandalf held out his hand. "Gimli, I was the one to instruct Galatea not to say anything. She told me everything that she knew and Lord Elrond and I decided it was best if no one knew what she knows."

"What?" Gimli shouted. "But…"

"I will not discuss this matter further, Gimli. Not here, anyway. Don't be mad at Galatea, she was just following my instructions."

Gandalf's words were followed by an awkward silence.

Galatea glanced at each member of the Fellowship but only Gimli seemed to be resentful. Boromir, Aragorn and Legolas nodded at her and the Hobbits smiled encouragingly.

Gandalf shouted at Pippin because he had destroyed all their hard work to pass through the mines in complete silence by making a bucket fall through a well.

A moment later, they were attacked by goblins. After barely dodging an arrow that could have gone through his head, Boromir closed the door of the room where Balin's tomb was and turned to them with a complaining tone in his voice. "They have a cave troll!"

After that, the battle that followed was less confusing than Galatea would have imagined.

Gladly obeying Aragorn's orders of staying behind Gandalf, Merry and Pippin stayed back, throwing rocks and protecting Lily as much as they could: it seemed that they had taken seriously Galatea's threat that if something happened to Lily she would kill them slowly.

Frodo and Sam tried to stay back as well but the goblins easily outnumbered them and they too were forced to fight.

Gimli stood on Balin's grave, his axe at the ready, growling and launching himself at every goblin he could find.

Gandalf fought with both Glamdring and his staff.

Galatea was surprised to find out that she was more excited at the idea of her first real battle than scared by the ugly goblins that surrounded her.

In fact, she felt both happy and outraged that Aragorn and Boromir tried to stick close to her, defending her at every chance. She knew they were distracted and, hadn't she be worrying that Boromir could be hurt, she would have scoffed when the Man was thrown against a wall by the outraged troll.

Galatea paid for her moment of distraction. A goblin nearly severed her head with his dagger and she managed to get away just in time before another goblin struck her.

"Oi!" she shouted at the goblins, deciding that it was not the time to see how attractive Boromir was covered in sweat and dirt from the fight. "Losers!"

She fought as bravely as she could but the troll scared her out of her wits and she felt extremely clumsy with the big sword in her hands.

While the Hobbits threw rocks at the goblins and Gandalf tried to protect them with Glamdring, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and Boromir had joined efforts against the cave troll, who had the power to kill them all even without the help of the goblins that surrounded it.

Galatea lost track of time while they fought fiercely against the troll and the goblins. She knew it couldn't have been more than just a few minutes, but it seemed so much longer than that.

When they saw the troll find Frodo, who'd tried to hide, and hit him with a spear, for a moment, time froze. They all watched in shock as the Hobbit gasped in pain… and fell.

4


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note****: Hello, everyone! It's been too long since I've last updated this story, but I was not going to leave it like this. I've had a very busy summer and lately I've had problems enrolling into university, in fact, I'm still waiting to know what will it be of me this year. Nevertheless, I want to keep writing stories! **

**This chapter will not be as long as the others because I've had a bit of writer's block and it was rather hard to get over it! **

**Hoping you'll enjoy this, thanks to those who spent time reading my fics. **

**I, very obviously, do not own LotR, otherwise Boromir wouldn't have died. **

Galatea was crying.

When Frodo had fallen she hadn't worried because she knew he was alright, so she had immediately started fighting again but the rest of the Fellowship had obviously thought the Hobbit was dead because their attacks became bolder, fiercer and more powerful. It hadn't taken long for Legolas to end the cave troll by sticking an arrow in his head. Galatea shrieked despite the fact that she was happy that the battle had ended. It was horrible to see when it was not in a movie. The blood that spilled from the creature's head was far more than anything they'd managed in the movie adaption of this story!

However, they had had little time to huddle all close to Frodo, find out he was in fact alive and very much alright because of the Mithril chainmail he'd gotten from Bilbo and be relieved.

Soon the scariest sound Galatea had ever heard had forced them to run away. Never mind that she knew exactly what it was, she'd always hated darkness with a passion and be in the dark, chased by a monster made of shadow and flame was not something she'd been looking forward to.

That was one moment when she regretted not taking Arwen's advice and stay in Rivendell waiting for the others! Of course, the moment they'd left Moria, Galatea had reconsidered. After all, not going with the Fellowship meant that she would've knowingly sent Boromir to his death without trying anything to prevent that, not to mention allowing Merry and Pippin to be abducted by Saruman's garrison of Uruk-hai.

Lily had been so scared of the mere sound of the Balrog (who could blame her?) that she'd willingly rushed in Galatea's arms even though she could run much faster than her mistress.

Everything had happened exactly as Galatea knew it would. They'd run to the Bridge of Khazad-Dum and there Gandalf had sacrificed himself to let them escape. Knowing that he'd be back before they knew it didn't help Galatea one bit.

If she closed her eyes, Galatea could still feel the heat and the fear she'd felt inside Moria. If there was a place she was never – _ever!_ – setting foot in again, those were the Mines of Moria.

Galatea held tighter on Lily, who was licking her left ear.

Not only had they lost Gandalf and only miraculously gotten out of the mines alive, but also they hadn't had time to rest, Aragorn hadn't let them despite Boromir's protests that the Hobbits should have a moment to grieve, not until they'd found the Woods of Loth Lòrien and the Elves that Lady Galadriel had sent to welcome them in her realm.

The meeting with Galadriel hadn't helped at all. Between fatigue, shock and the Elven queen talking in their minds, it was a miracle they'd made it to the pavilion the Elves had prepared for them to stay.

When they'd found the time to actually process the idea of having lost Gandalf, of course, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Boromir and the Hobbits had all asked if she had known Gandalf's fate. When her answer turned out to be a yes, even the Hobbits' faces were filled with contempt and they usually didn't like to get involved in arguments. She'd been expecting that so she hadn't given them the time to scream at her.

"Of course, I knew!" she'd shouted. "I knew and I told him even before we had the slightest idea we had to go there! I told him that there was a Balrog in there! I told him we could find another way but he didn't listen! He said 'if it must be it will be'! I knew, I told and I failed and now he's gone and it's my fault! I just wanted to help! I was supposed to help but I can't! I can't! I study languages, I am not a heroine!"

Then she'd run away and Lily had followed her.

She'd been alone ever since.

Had she wanted to care, she would've reflected on the fact that the others were as much in a bad mood as she was. She wasn't absolutely thinking about it at the moment, but she knew that Legolas had commented about the lament for Gandalf the Elves of Loth Lòrien were singing, that Sam had tried to make his own song about the wizard, that Merry and Pippin were so in shock that they weren't trying to cheer anyone up. She wasn't even thinking about one of her favourite parts of the story, when Boromir was haunted by what Galadriel had told him in his mind and Aragorn tried, rather awkwardly, to comfort him.

She didn't know how much time had passed since she'd run away from the others. It seemed hours to her, maybe even days… who cared? Whatever pleasure Galatea had felt ever since finding herself in Middle Earth it was long gone. Living it took away the impression that, even though you could get caught up with the story, when you closed the book you knew you weren't involved. Now it was like being Bastian Balthazar Bux from The Never-ending Story by Michael Ende. Even if you closed the book, you were caught up in the story, _literally_.

Galatea sniffed, wiped her tears with the back of her hand and sighed, completely unaware of eight pairs of eyes looking at her from behind the giant trees of Loth Lòrien.

"Maybe we were too hard on her."

Gimli turned to Legolas with an expression of mock shock on his face. "You think?" he grumbled sarcastically. "Eight of us against one, Elf. That's not fair on the lassie."

"She probably knows we were just blinded by shock and grief." Aragorn commented softly. "But that's not an excuse. It's hardly Galatea's fault, _especially_ if she told Gandalf."

"One of us should go talk to her." Frodo said. "We really didn't consider her feelings."

"Also, this mission is taking much from each of us." Merry added.

When Aragorn and Boromir had finished their conversation and had gone back to the Fellowship, Frodo had suggested that they all go look for Galatea. Thankfully, there were so many guards in Loth Lòrien that it hadn't taken long to find the meadow where the girl had been hiding.

Boromir had been silent for the whole conversation, watching Galatea from afar and trying to make up his mind about what he should tell her when he would have the chance to talk to her. He didn't know how to approach the situation but seeing the girl so miserable really made him concerned about her. He'd been smitten about other ladies before but he'd known for a while that his feelings for Galatea were different. It didn't take a genius to notice how much she admired him and hung at his every word. He'd been flattered about Galatea wanting to spend time with him from the start but he now knew that it was more than flattery to him. He'd become almost dependent on the girl's smile to brighten up his days, which, in truth, were very grim at the moment. He liked how she would go out of her way just to sit next to him at lunch or be the one to help him tide up his part of the camp. He'd noticed that her concern over his well-being was sincere. If he didn't know better, he would say she loved him. That was a ridiculous thought. He was quite sure that Galatea, although she seemed to admire him, would have no interest in spending her life with a man who was too soft to stand up to his father about Denethor's behaviour towards his little brother Faramir.

The fact was that as ridiculous as it was to think that Galatea could _love_ him, Boromir had begun to think that _he_ was in love with _her_! He couldn't help but smile back every time that she smiled at him and he admired how much she cared for this land which wasn't her own. He really appreciated the efforts she put in making sure he was alright and that everyone was happy. Obviously, she had strange manners and even stranger ideas but whether she was happy or not meant the world to him. He'd promised to take her to Minas Tirith, now that she and Lily had nowhere to go, and he'd live up to the promise of looking after her. At first he'd thought of finding her a good husband, but after he'd known her better, he had an idea that she would just hit him for even suggesting an arranged marriage. Huh, who could blame her? After all, he himself had never gotten married because he wouldn't want to go back home to a woman who didn't care for Boromir but for the Steward's son.

Recently, however, the very thought of Galatea married to some old noble man was appalling. What if someone who was not from Minas Tirith married Galatea and took her away and he would have no way to see her again?

No, that would absolutely not do. He wanted to be the one she could run to if she was scared, he wanted to protect her and be the recipient of her care.

"Master Boromir should go and talk to Lady Galatea."

Sam's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He didn't know whether the Hobbit was right or not but he was sure he didn't want to go and see her crying. Whenever she was upset, the feeling that there was nothing he could do for her was the most excruciating pain he'd felt. He'd always hated feeling – or worse _being_ – helpless. Comforting a woman was to Boromir of Gondor far worse than any battle or challenge he'd faced in his entire life.

Also, he didn't know if it was right or wrong to be as proud as he was, but he didn't like to be ordered around, especially when he was upset. And why did the others always suggested that he'd go handle Galatea when she was worried, scared or generally upset?

"If you don't mind, laddie, I'd like to be the one to speak with the lassie." Gimli told Boromir before he could say anything. "I shouted at her in Moria for not telling me about Balin. I should apologise to her."

"I – huh – no, of course I do not mind."

For a moment, the silence of Loth Lòrien was disturbed only by the noise of Gimli's heavy steps. The other seven watched the Dwarf approach the girl and Lily wagging her tail at him before running off to the nearby river to lap some water.

"You should've gone talk to her." Aragorn told Boromir somewhat reproachfully.

Legolas was going to join the Elves of Lòrien for supper, followed by the Hobbits who were hungry.

"Why?" Boromir asked.

Aragorn sighed. Was it possible he'd been too subtle in the signs he'd tried to give the Man from Gondor about Galatea? Everyone single member of the Fellowship knew about Galatea's feelings for Boromir. Apparently Boromir didn't but Aragorn could see something in the other Man's eyes akin to – _challenge_? No, maybe expectancy?

_Ah._ Aragorn thought. _I think I know what's going on in his head._

"Boromir, there's something I've been meaning to ask you for a while…" Aragorn started carefully. "Do you, by any chance, _admire_ Galatea?"

_And there's the proud stiff! _Aragorn barely managed to hold back a chuckle because he didn't want to offend the other Man. During the time they'd spent together as a Fellowship, he'd come to understand how everyone's mind worked – in Galatea's case, if you wanted her to do something you just had to mention that Boromir would appreciate it; when it came to the Hobbits, all four of them, food was the best prompting you could find – and Boromir was no exception. What was that that Galatea had called him when he'd talked Legolas and Gimli into working together? Ah, yes, her exact words had been 'a manipulative bastard'. He would have been offended if not for the fact that she'd said that while laughing, obviously not meaning it as an insult but just as a joke.

"What do you mean?" Boromir hissed, glancing anxiously towards the girl who was still talking to Gimli by the river.

"You know exactly what I mean." Aragorn retorted.

Boromir stayed silent for a moment. "What if I did?"

_So he does love her!_ "I'd say you go tell her!"

Boromir scoffed. "She would never accept my feelings. Why would she? I know she likes me enough but that's different from spending your life with someone. What do I have to offer to her?"

It was Aragorn's turn to scoff. "What do you have to offer? The Valar are witnesses, this is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard! You're the heir to the Steward of Gondor! What do you mean 'what do you have to offer'? You told me there are many maidens who would like to marry you just because you are the Steward's son!"

"Galatea's different!" Boromir protested, feeling extremely protective over the girl. "She is from another world! Her needs are very different from those of a maiden of Gondor! What if she doesn't want..."

"What if?" Aragorn replied, very tired of having to come up with different ways of throwing the other Man in Galatea's waiting arms. "Why don't you let her decide? Of course, that would mean that you have to accept the possibility that she might refuse (_Like that's a possibility..._ he thought) but you'll never know if you don't tell her! These times are trying enough without adding more fear and doubts that are easily vanquished!"

Boromir avoided Aragorn's fierce eyes. Maybe he was right. Maybe he should just go for it and tell Galatea how he felt about her.

He sighed and walked closer to where Galatea was sitting next to Gimli, still engrossed in conversation with the Dwarf. Lily ran to him and Boromir had to pet her to keep her quiet. He didn't want to disturb them. He could wait for a while longer to tell her.

He didn't have to wait long, though. Soon, Gimli stood and patted Galatea on the shoulder while the girl smiled.

"You're remarkable, lassie!" he grumbled loud enough for Boromir to hear. "Do not think less of yourself just because you didn't manage to save Gandalf! None of us could've done anything! And if the Wizard knew, then it was up to him to decide about his life! He will be mourned and missed but it's not your fault that he fell!"

Galatea nodded. "I-I'll try to remember that."

"Well, I'm going to go and have some dinner, hopefully these Elves cook better than the others..." Boromir couldn't help but snicker at Gimli's distasteful tone when talking about their hosts. He was less vocal about it than the Dwarf, but he too hoped to leave Loth Lòrien as soon as possible. "Are you coming, lassie?"

"In a moment."

Gimli turned and walked towards Boromir, stopping just a moment next to him to heave his axe on his shoulder. "She's all yours, laddie."

As the Dwarf walked past him, Boromir sighed, wondering if his feelings were so obvious. Well, surely he'd never hidden behind a tree to watch a girl from afar but his life had never been this strange ever since Galatea had appeared on his path.

"Galatea?" he called before he could stop himself.

She turned sharply to him. Was it just him hoping that it was like this or did Galatea answer more quickly to him than to anyone else?

"Oh!" she gasped softly. "Boromir, I didn't know you were there."

Something oh so very obvious to say. Galatea blushed, thinking about how stupid she'd just sounded.

"May I join you?" he asked, apparently having not heard her stupid remark. She nodded. He sat next to her and her heart started to pound oh so very quickly in her chest. What must he think of her? Never mind what Gimli had just told her? What if Boromir thought she was a disgrace? "Are you alright, dear one?"

She loved it when he called her 'dear one'. "Much better, thank you." Galatea answered softly. "Gimli was very sympathetic. You wouldn't say it from just looking at him but he really has a good heart."

"I agree with you. But you knew that from that book you mentioned?"

"Of course." Galatea nodded. "He will be always true to the Fellowship. That's for sure."

"I'm sorry we all took it out on you, Galatea." Boromir said abruptly. "It was not fair. We regretted it the moment those harsh words left our mouths."

Galatea shook her head. "It's alright, I'm not mad at any of you. I would've done the same. This mission is taking a lot from each of us. Each of us hears the Ring one way or another. It was obvious that you would've wanted an explanation from me when something like this would happen."

"Still, we all know better than lash out at a maiden."

"It's not that." Galatea said. "I was not upset because you all took it out on me. I was upset because I know I'm not good enough for this mission."

Boromir looked shocked. "What are you saying?"

Galatea sighed, not daring to look in his eyes. Why was she unburdening herself on him? They all had their own demons, she shouldn't ask them to comfort her! "I really love being here with you... all of you, but I know that sometimes I am a bother."

"You absolutely are not!" Boromir protested loudly. "We don't care if you can't fight! The Hobbits can't either! We all are very pleased to have you with us! _I_ am very pleased to have you with... well, _me_!" Galatea looked up sharply. Had she heard right? Boromir was looking at her fiercely. "I was rather surprised to find you, to discover that you are not from this world but you are something else, Galatea, and I must admit that I... I have come to admire you."

What was happening? Galatea stared blankly at him. "A-admire me?" she whispered.

"Yes!" he answered fiercely. "You are always ready to look after us! You try to make us laugh and you don't give yourself enough credit! I do admire you! I do not care about how much your ways are different from my ways! I've never had someone who would look after me like you do because of me, not because of the heir of the Steward of Gondor! You are the most exquisite woman I've ever laid eyes upon!" Galatea gasped in surprise when he took both her hands in his rather violently. When he spoke, Boromir's voice was soft and gentle. "I would be honoured if you would accept to be with me."

"B-be with you?" she repeated, feeling so stupid. What was happening? Was Boromir, Boromir of Gondor, the Man of her dreams (_literally!_) professing his love for her? _Her_?

"Yes!" he insisted. "I mean, be my spouse."

Galatea was too struck by the sudden confession that she was speechless for a while. She was there, not daring tearing her eyes from Boromir as if he would vanish, hoping that she was not going to wake up from this dream! Anyone could be witness that she'd read that book enough times to dream of something like this!

But this was not a dream, she thought when his gloved hand caressed her cheek. No, Boromir of Gondor, son of Denethor, had just asked her to marry him!

"You want _me_ to be your wife?"

"My wife, yes!"

Galatea couldn't take it anymore. She threw her arms around him and pressed her lips against his. She kissed him long and passionately, not bothered at all by his unshaven facial hair.

When they finally had to part to breathe, she smiled, her eyes shining with tears.

"I am the happiest woman in the whole universe!"

Boromir beamed and kissed her again. He had no idea what a 'universe' was but it was clear that it meant that Galatea, no, his _betrothed_ was really happy about it.

At the moment, he couldn't care less about anything. Not his father, not Gondor, not the Fellowship, not even the bloody Ring! Galatea wanted to marry him and the world had never seemed so perfect to him as it was tonight, with the woman he loved in his arms.

6


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note****: And here is the new chapter of Galatea's adventures in Middle Earth! Sorry for the delay but it was really difficult to write and then there were the holidays... I wanted for this chapter to be good and hopefully I managed to do just that! **

**I will ask you, though, about a problem that will be discussed in this chapter. Should Galatea get along with Denethor? **

**Disclaimer****: Obviously I do not own LotR or I wouldn't be reduced to just imagining that Boromir survived Amon Hen and using fanfiction to delude myself... T_T Sadly, I have a knack for liking characters who end up dead... On the last part, the title of the song by The Ark "It takes a fool to remain sane" is mentioned. Clearly I do not own that either! **

When Galatea woke up abruptly and gasped, she was still tired, yes, but she could never go back to sleep after the bliss she'd just experienced. Especially not after she'd felt the weight on her body and had looked down to find that her dream was not so wrong after all.

She'd often dreamt of Boromir loving her and her fantasies had been more than wild – in fact, she still thanked God that she didn't talk in her sleep – but she'd always woken up to find out that reality was very different.

This time, however, this time, she didn't wake up in her bedroom back home, with Lily fretting to go out for her morning walk. This time, her dream was not a dream, her fantasy not a fantasy.

With a satisfied sigh, Galatea relaxed and caressed Boromir's long dark hair with her right hand. He grunted softly in his sleep and moved slightly, pressing his face between her naked breasts.

As she contemplated her lover – her _betrothed_'s muscled body, Galatea thanked again whoever had given her the chance to end up here in Middle Earth. She missed her family dearly, for sure, and was saddened by the thought that they probably thought her dead but she couldn't do anything about it and she was sure they would want her to be happy. Well, there was no way to be happier in this world than marrying the Man she'd always dreamt about.

She knew she was kind of a psychopath in this sense.

It had been rather amusing how she and Boromir had ended up making love on the grass of Loth Lòrien. She hoped no Elf had actually seen them – those guys had really good sight!

After she'd accepted his proposal (who wouldn't have?), Boromir had told her he was sorry he couldn't do things properly and give her a ring, because he hadn't expected to find the woman to propose to during this quest and had left the ring his mother had ordered to be crafted for him in Minas Tirith. Galatea had just laughed, saying that there was no need for a ring, especially since they were all in danger _because_ of a ring, and he'd asked if there was any particular thing he would have to do in her world to ask her to marry him. Galatea had answered that in her world usually the bride-to-be was free to choose whomever pleased her and no one had any right to object. Also, had they wanted to have Boromir meet Galatea's parents and siblings, well... it would have been rather difficult, as her whole family was in another world.

However, she had suddenly remembered that surely here in Middle Earth women were expected to be virgins when they got married. Worried that he may get back his proposal but wanting to be completely honest with him, she'd explained Boromir that she wasn't a virgin. It had been very difficult to explain how for her people it wasn't mandatory that a woman get married as virgin, but it had been just as funny to try and explain what she meant by 'sleep with' or 'have sex' or even 'fornicate'! When words failed her – and, as a linguist, she hated herself when it happened! – Galatea had decided to let it go and she'd kissed him and one thing had led to another –

"Galatea?"

Boromir's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Mh-mh?" she answered, still caressing his hair.

"We should probably go back, dearest."

"We probably should, angel." Galatea answered, sighing softly.

Boromir glanced at her after he'd stood up and started covering himself again.

In their frenzy, they'd made love on his cloak but now that they were done it was freezing. He helped Galatea up and, when she was dressed as well, he covered her with his cloak and she snuggled closer to him. There is always a good excuse to snuggle closer to the man you love, especially after he's just proposed.

"What does that mean?" Boromir asked her, as they started to walk back towards the pavilion where they knew they would find the rest of the Fellowship and, hopefully, lunch.

"What?"

"That word you just used, 'angel'?" Boromir said. "I heard you use it many times. I understand it's some kind of affectionate appellative but I never resolved to ask you."

"Oh." Galatea had never thought that some words that she used, especially proverbs or figures of speech or, in this case, monikers, were odd for the people in this world. Thankfully, she knew how to explain that one. "You would call it an Ainu."

"You use Ainu as an appellative for loved ones?"

"It's too hard to explain right now." Galatea answered. She really didn't feel like explaining monotheistic religions! "One day, I'll tell you about it..."

As they entered the meadow right beneath the residence of Celeborn and Galadriel, where the Elves had located the pavilion they'd built for the Fellowship, a sudden thought came to Galatea. "Should we tell the others that you proposed?"

Boromir didn't answer and glanced at the table under the pavilion, where Merry and Pippin were wrestling Gimli over a piece of chicken. Frodo and Sam were more well-mannered but were still filling their plates as if this was their last meal. Legolas and Aragorn were discussing so intently that they didn't notice Pippin taking their fried tomatoes.

"There you are!" Aragorn exclaimed, feeding Lily a piece of sausage. Apparently, the call of food had called the dog as well as the Fellowship. "When we called for lunch, Lily was the only one to answer! Legolas and I were wondering whether to send a searching party or not!"

Galatea and Boromir exchanged a quick, anxious glance. Thank God, no one had come looking for them! It would have been most embarrassing if someone had walked on them making love!

"Forgive our tardiness, Aragorn." Boromir said pleasantly. "Galatea has just been so gracious to accept to be my spouse when we are back in Minas Tirith."

And there was Galatea's answer.

She looked at him, taken by surprise, while the others gasped and immediately offered their congratulations. She was still gaping at Boromir with wide eyes when the Hobbits threw themselves on her to celebrate.

"Finally!" Aragorn laughed as he patted Boromir's shoulder. In the meanwhile, Galatea was being hugged gruffly by Gimli. "I thought you would never tell her."

"Somehow, Aragorn, I find it healthier to wait rather than to promise yourself to someone the moment you first see him or her." Aragorn laughed, knowing well what she meant. She'd often teased him over his relationship with Arwen. In her defence, he'd teased her just as much. "Although..." Galatea added, smiling broadly at Boromir. "... I must admit that's what happened to me."

Boromir returned the smile and kissed her hand.

"Wasn't falling in love with the character from a book what happened to you?" Pippin asked and the others laughed.

"Shut up, Pippin!" Galatea reprimanded him in mock-annoyance. "As Arwen said, it's not odd now that I am here!"

"I would certainly hope so!" Boromir told her.

"It does tell you a lot about your betrothed, though, Boromir." Legolas put in jokingly.

"Shut up, Goldilocks!" Galatea snapped, as usual taking it very badly when people teased her. She liked to tease, not be teased.

Boromir laughed. "Galatea will fit just fine in Minas Tirith."

"And that says a lot about Minas Tirith!" Pippin grinned playfully.

Frodo approached the girl and Sam followed readily. They were sincere but rather formal in offering her their congratulations. Galatea knew they had bonded with the Fellowship just as much as Merry and Pippin had done but it seemed that they still found it hard to be as expansive as the other two Hobbits. Galatea supposed they were just politer than Merry and Pippin.

They all sat down at the table and enjoyed the meal. For once, the power of the Ring was not enough to dampen their spirits. True, they were all sad about what had happened in Moria and it would take a while to recover from that but, as Aragorn said during his toast to the wizard, Gandalf would reprimand them for dwelling on him when there was an engagement to celebrate. They were just friends celebrating a life, Gandalf's, and a happy event.

Of course, such happiness could not be for long. Galatea was caught off guard when, after lunch, she was full and sleepy from the delicious meal. The Fellowship was resting lazily and exchanging stories about their childhoods. The Hobbits, exhausted by the grief of Gandalf's loss yet happy that their friends were engaged, fell asleep immediately.

Galatea had hoped to lie in Boromir's arms, as there was no need to hide their affection towards one another now that the Fellowship knew of their engagement, but it seemed that it would not be appropriate to do something like that. In fact, Boromir had not even made a move and he was merely leaning on the bed next to her.

She had just told them about her father and his passion for travels, when Aragorn brought up a subject she'd considered during her fantasies of realising her wish of being with Boromir.

"Galatea?" the Ranger called lazily through a cloud of pipe-weed Frodo had offered him before going to bed.

"Mh?" the girl answered after another smile at her love. She still couldn't believe he was hers!

"Do you know how you always say you don't want to be treated like a princess?"

Boromir glanced at the other Man, immediately understanding what he meant to say.

"What about it?"

"Well, now that you're betrothed to the Steward's son you might as well get used to it!" he laughed easily. "After all, being the Steward's son's wife is as close as princess you would get!"

Aragorn laughed again.

Galatea turned to Boromir, faking a confident smile. She hoped he wouldn't notice how scared she really was. Aragorn's remark had thrown in her face a problem she'd so far succeeded in postponing the moment she would worry about it. After all, she was excused to do so before Boromir's proposal of marriage. How would she get along with Denethor? She never cared for that character while reading the book but that was before she knew Middle Earth was a real place for her. Moreover, she didn't like the prospect of stressing out because her father-in-law-to-be didn't like her.

"Oh, yeah!" she exclaimed with a shaky laugh. "You are Prince of the City already!"

"What's the name of your city again?" Aragorn asked.

"Roma." Galatea answered, suddenly realising how little she'd told them all about her world. They'd all been so engrossed in discussing the ever-present issue of destroying the Ring that she had had little time to share her culture with them and no one had ever shown more than polite interest in that regard. Galatea supposed the idea that she came from another reality was still very intimidating to them all. "That's in my language, though. In English – in Westron is Rome."

"You mean that Westron is not the language you're used to speak every day?"

Galatea nodded. "I thought I mentioned this but no, it's not. What you call Westron is called English where I come from. It's very similar to the Common Tongue because it's used in the same way."

Boromir noticed how excited she suddenly looked. He had never thought about how much she must have been missing her world. "You never speak of your land, Galatea." he said abruptly. "You must miss it very much."

She nodded. "I do. I try not to think about it. I actually prefer staying here but my culture it's so different... I'm bound to miss it."

"I suppose..." Aragorn agreed. "If you don't mind me asking, I was sure that Westron was your mother-tongue... who taught you so well?"

"Well, my father has always wanted me and my siblings to learn English so we've all had a tutor coming to the house once a week ever since we were children."

Boromir and Aragorn exchanged a confused look and it took Galatea a moment to understand that they had both been educated by tutors. "Where I come from we usually send children to school at a very young age, so that they can be with other children."

"What's your language called?"

"Italian." Galatea answered. "I can speak another couple of languages, though."

"Really?" Boromir asked. "I've never heard of anyone spending so much time educating women..."

Seeing Galatea's expression, he immediately understood that he'd offended her. "Where I come from, men and women are equals! We can work and we have access to high-level teaching! There are even women ruling entire countries!"

Boromir blushed. As proud as he was, he could not bear the idea of having insulted any woman especially the one he meant to marry. "I didn't mean to offend you, dearest. It is the way it is, here. I did not mean that women are less than men. My mother was a remarkable woman, clever and very cultured... as much as she was allowed to learn, she did."

Galatea regarded him for a moment. She didn't know if what he said was true or if he was just trying to find a good excuse for how he'd inadvertently insulted her. In the end, she decided to forgive him. She knew that trying to change the mindset of the people of Middle Earth by herself was almost impossible but she liked to think that Boromir and the Fellowship respected her for who she was. In that regard, she hoped to get acquainted with Èowyn of Rohan very soon. "Anyway, before I ended up here, I'd just finished my studies. I think that a scholar is the closest to what I was here, so – that's what I am! I am a scholar specialised in languages. I've been thinking and I believe the best thing for me to do is to learn all the languages I can learn here. Would I be able to do that in Minas Tirith?"

"Of course!" Boromir answered immediately. "I would provide you with the finest teachers, if you ask it of me!"

"I'm sure Legolas and the Lady Arwen would be glad to teach you." Aragorn put in.

"I'd love to learn!" Galatea said. "I really do love languages and I'm very interested in the languages of Middle Earth! I did write my thesis on it!"

"What's a thesis?" Aragorn asked. As a very well-educated man and more interested in culture than a soldier like Boromir, he would always ask her the meaning of the words she used that they did not understand. In fact, everyone in the Fellowship would ask her what this or that word meant but Aragorn would always wonder beyond the simple, basic meaning of understanding the sentence. Boromir too would ask and he'd just confessed to her that he'd been doing so not so much because of an interest in what the word actually meant but because he believed that he should know more about her and her culture, especially now that he was to marry her.

"Oh, it's like a dissertation... well, a study a student has to write for the final exam of all his studies!"

Galatea found it very difficult to explain things like this but she enjoyed the challenge. Boromir had told her he liked how excited she got when she talked about anything she enjoyed.

"Lady Galatea of Roma, Scholar of the White Tower." Boromir mused, smiling at her. "It has a nice ring to it."

Aragorn yawned and bid them goodnight, apparently not aware that he'd brought a very dark thought to Galatea's mind. Boromir noticed that his betrothed looked worried, now that her excitement at the thought of languages was gone, and reached out to kiss her hand.

"Are you alright, dearest?"

Galatea managed to smile at him. "I'm fine." she said softly.

"You look distressed." Boromir tried again but, upon receiving no answer again, he decided to let it go. "Come, love. You need to rest." he said, stroking her golden hair. "Allow me to help you."

Galatea let him help her lie down on her pillows and Boromir caressed her hair and cheek before kissing her hand again and bidding her goodnight. She would've wanted for him to lay beside her and wrap his arms about her but she knew it wouldn't be appropriate. This was a great downside of Middle Earth!

For a moment, she forgot her worries but it didn't take long for her fears to come back to her the moment Boromir had gone to bed himself.

She lay there, in the dark, her eyes wide open as her mind raced through several scenarios of possible meetings with Denethor and Faramir.

Of course, some were absurd but that was what her mind did when she got anxious. The least likely was for Faramir to reject her rudely. Whenever Boromir or Gandalf had spoken of Boromir's brother, they'd always spoken highly of him. She also knew about him from the book so she had a good idea of how to deal with him. Denethor was another case. Galatea was very worried that he would not only not like her but that he would try to separate them, especially since he was probably more interested in Boromir's marriage than Boromir himself. However, Galatea resolved before finally getting some sleep, Boromir would probably have some way of dealing with his father and making him accept the fact that he was going to marry a girl who had literally appeared out of nowhere or he wouldn't have proposed at all. Besides, knowing that he was most likely to object of Boromir's marriage to Galatea, the girl could work on that and show him what she was made of. Boromir loved her and she loved him! She wasn't going to let anyone separate them!

They stayed in Loth Lòrien for a month. Despite however relaxing the Elven realm was, Galatea never managed to enjoy it after Aragorn's remark about her becoming a princess of Gondor.

Galatea spent her days walking through the woods with Boromir and the Hobbits. Boromir had acknowledged her need of closeness and had taken to hold her hand while they walked. It was not much, not nearly as good as her dream of making out with him in the woods but it was better than nothing. Galatea supposed that she would have all the time to satisfy her carnal needs after she'd married him.

Now that she felt more at ease at talking about her world, Galatea spent hours explaining things about her world to the Fellowship. They were shocked when she told them there were only humans in her world, no Elves, no Dwarves and no Hobbits, but they listened intently and were very interested when she told them about the history of her country – or, you know, what little she knew about the history of her country. She'd never cared for history.

Galatea was very grateful that they were all more or less noble and very cultured because she could go on and on for hours about languages and they would be interested and not ask her to stop like her friends did back home.

However, no one ever regained the comfortable feeling they'd experienced the day Boromir had announced his betrothal to Galatea.

When Galatea found Aragorn, Boromir and Legolas bent on a map of Middle Earth, talking about the path to take when they left Loth Lòrien, she suddenly remembered that soon she would have to think of something to save Boromir's life at Amon Hen. So she was not only worrying about her father-in-law but also, you know, the little detail that if her love died she would die of heart-break herself. This had been easier when she read the book, Boromir was only a fantasy and she couldn't do anything about his death. Now she could and she definitely would!

She noticed that Frodo was starting to look weary again, most probably because of the Ring, and that Sam had started to fuss over him worse than ever. Galatea wondered if fussing over Frodo was Sam's way of blowing off steam.

Gimli and Legolas' fights became more frequent than ever until the Elf decided it would be better for him to vanish and spend his days with the other Elves until they had to leave.

Aragorn was the one who didn't look affected but Galatea saw him with a grim expression whenever he thought no one was looking. He'd accepted all to gladly to teach Galatea the way of behaving in the royal court when she'd shared her concern that Boromir would be embarrassed by her behaviour if she didn't do something about it.

All in all, the only one really enjoying herself after the adventures in Moria was Lily, who'd become the mascot of the Fellowship and the favourite of the Elves. Hadn't she always been not much of a eater and having her always been a runner, Galatea could swear Lily would've been overweight by now, what with all the food the Elf-maidens of Loth Lòrien offered the dog. She certainly was more spoiled than she was when she'd ended up in Middle Earth with her mistress – and that was saying something!

Nevertheless, Galatea was happy that Lily could enjoy her new found freedom of movement here in Middle Earth. At least, Lily was the only one on whom the Ring couldn't play its tricks. Of that, Galatea would always be grateful. She couldn't bear the idea of having Lily suffer because of that blasted Ring!

On their very last day in Loth Lòrien, right while preparing the boats Galadriel and Celeborn had provided the Fellowship to sail on the river Anduin, Galatea found Pippin sitting on the riverbank, staring at his new dagger, a gift from the Lady of Light.

"Hey, Pip?" she called gently, seeing him so upset. "What are you thinking about?"

Pippin glanced at her, acknowledging her presence, and went back at staring at the dagger while she sat next to him. "What am I doing here, Galatea? I am no warrior! I wish I'd listened to Elrond and Gandalf! The only significant thing I have done since we left Rivendell was making that skeleton fall in Moria... I killed Gandalf!"

Galatea couldn't believe her ears. "Oh, sweetheart, that's not true! No one believes that and you shouldn't either!"

Pippin shook his head, ignoring her words completely. "What was I thinking coming along and getting in the way of mighty warriors? I mean, Frodo has to take the Ring but Merry, Sam and I..."

Galatea engulfed him into a hug. "You shouldn't say such things, Pippin." she said softly. "I know for a fact that you'll play a big part in this story and, don't worry, if Gandalf was against you three coming, you wouldn't have left Rivendell in the first place!"

Pippin sniffed, clearly still not believing her words. When Galatea tightened her grasp on him, he snuggled closer. He'd missed the warmth of his sisters' affection and Galatea was showing him that Women could be just as affectionate as Hobbits. "Gandalf was right! I am a fool of a Took!"

Galatea pushed him away, kindly ruffling his curls. She smiled. "I cannot take away these gloomy thoughts from your mind but, for what is worth, there was a song in my world that says that 'it takes a fool to remain sane'. I find this to be one of the greatest truths of the universe, don't you agree?"

Finally, the Hobbit smiled.

Later, he jumped cheerfully in the boat he and Merry would share with Boromir, Lily and Galatea. When the auburn-furred dog curled up in Merry's lap, Pippin discovered how comfortable Lily's body was as a pillow.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's note****: I finally – **_**finally!**_** – managed to finish this chapter! It was much harder than I thought it would be! I spent days trying to figure out how to describe the mood of the Fellowship on the river Anduin. Hopefully, I managed to get it right! I also wondered whether Galatea should be seduced by the Ring or not... you will find the answer in this chapter. Thank you for following this story with patience! If you have any ideas to apply to this story, please, feel free to PM me or tell me in a review! **

**I hope you're enjoying my work! **

**Disclaimer****: Obviously I do not own LotR. The song Galatea sings at the end of the chapter is "He moved through the Fair" by Sinead O'Connor with the Chieftains. It's a classic Celtic song. I just changed two words. Where it says "brother" it should be "mother" and where it says "father" it should be "daughters". You'll see why. **

Galatea recalled her aunt telling her about a holiday spent sailing on a river. Her aunt told her that she was too small to remember it but, as far as Galatea was concerned, her trip on the river Anduin was the closest thing to that holiday she could think of. This is a consideration Galatea made much later than her sail down the River Anduin because there were many things on her mind during their journey and a holiday she didn't even remember was the least of them.

Truth is... the Fellowship seemed to have left any trace of good mood in Loth Lòrien, after Galatea, encouraged by the others, had sung to thank Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn of their kind hospitality. She'd been inspired, that day, and her voice had echoed through the trees, making them all hopeful of a swift and trouble-free journey. She never sang after that. It was too dangerous to have her voice reverberate through the landscape, literally shouting their position to the garrison of Uruk-hai following them.

The journey was indeed swift and trouble-free but what was ahead worried them more than anything. It was as if every single member of the Fellowship was trapped in his/her mind. Not even Merry and Pippin would try to cheer everyone up. Galatea wouldn't say anything because Boromir spent less and less time with her and, truth to be told, she didn't mind being left alone. When she thought about it, she hated it but she got distracted very easily. She was the only one to know that the moment when Frodo would have to decide whether to go alone to Mordor or accepting Boromir's suggestion and regroup at Minas Tirith was becoming closer. They started discussing possible paths to take after they left the river. It was always forced themselves to talk to each other. Galatea knew she should give her opinion and try to influence Boromir's decision. He'd been going on and on about how much he wanted to hurry back to Minas Tirith because his people needed him. Galatea had indeed suggested somewhat hesitantly that they did just that but he hadn't even heard her and had said that he wasn't one to abandon his friends.

All Galatea knew was that they were both so worried that they would bite their own nails all the time. She even spotted Pippin staring at her as if she was going insane. She wasn't but she felt very anxious. What if Boromir didn't love her anymore? What if Faramir didn't like her? What if Denethor found a way to separate Boromir from her?

The truth was that, even knowing Boromir's life was at stake here, it was harder and harder for Galatea to fathom the idea of separating from the Ring. Was it really so dangerous? She knew what to expect, she knew exactly what the Ring did. She was more than qualified to bear it.

She was alone, alone with her dog in a strange world, a world she knew only through books – not only books, _fantasy_ books! All that she wanted from this world was Boromir's love. She'd gained it, that's for sure, but it was clearly slipping away. After that first time in the woods of Loth Lòrien, Boromir had barely touched her, let alone kiss her.

One night, she was woken by the sound of hushed voices not far from where she was. Lily was curled up in a ball next to her. She didn't appreciate the boat trip but she could run for an hour every time they stopped so she wasn't complaining either. She was so tired she just opened her eyes and checked her mistress didn't go far.

Galatea immediately found the source of the noise. Aragorn had just stepped past her to join Boromir on the riverbank.

"Gollum," she heard him whisper to the other Man, "He has tracked us since Moria. I had hoped we would lose him on the river, but he is too clever a waterman."

Galatea couldn't risk approaching them because they would notice she was awake.

"And if he alerts the enemy of our whereabouts... it will make the crossing even more dangerous." Boromir whispered back.

_Oh, sweetheart, Captain Obvious has spoken!_ Galatea thought.

It didn't take long for Boromir to reiterate what he'd been suggesting in the past days.

"Minas Tirith is the safest road," he told Aragorn, "From there we can regroup. Strike out for Mordor from a place of strength."

Knowing what Aragorn would say to that, Galatea sighed and proceeded to check that Merry and Pippin were comfortable. They were so peaceful when they slept, she imagined they spent all their energy during the day.

"There is no strength in Gondor that can avail us."

Aragorn's voice was just a whisper but a cool whisper and as sharp as a knife. No wonder Boromir took it so personally!

"You were quick enough to trust the Elves!" Boromir unconsciously raised his voice in his anger, "Have you so little faith in your own people? Yes, there is weakness. There is frailty. But there is courage also and honour to be found in Men! But you will not see that!"

Galatea saw Aragorn trying to leave in the corner of her eye. Boromir didn't let him and grabbed his arm.

"You are afraid!" he muttered angrily, "All your life, you have hidden in the shadows, scared of who you are, of what you are!"

_Thank God, someone managed to tell him this to his face!_ Galatea sighed, ruffling Sam's curly hair. She loved Aragorn but the task Arwen had given her, to convince the Númenorean to step up and take his birthright as King of Gondor, had proven to be one of the hardest things Galatea had ever had to do. He would never budge from his position. And, of course, his stupid idea that no one could handle the Ring but Frodo was insane. Galatea of all people knew Frodo would give in in the end!

"I will not lead the Ring within a hundred leagues of your city!"

Galatea snorted at his venomous words. It really wasn't fair that he treated her love like that. She moved forward and was going to check on Frodo, when a glimpse of gold captured her eyes.

The Ring.

The little thing, Boromir had called it, the little, precious thing that was always in their minds. Aragorn could play all high and mighty as he wanted but Galatea knew he thought about the Ring all the time. He couldn't help it. None of them could.

Galatea didn't look at Boromir to know he hadn't moved yet, still stunned and offended by Aragorn's words.

Galatea knew he wanted the Ring. He would love her if she had it. She could give it to him and they would rule over this world. Galatea had never cared much for power but she thought it was a fair trade considering she'd been thrown in this world against her will. She was honest and fair, she would make a good queen and Boromir would be her handsome king. Everyone would bow to her and no one would ever humiliate her again.

She just needed to borrow the Ring. She knew its tricks and the danger it put everyone in. They should've given to her in the first place, it should've been hers!

It wouldn't be difficult. She just had to put it on, without even taking it off Frodo's neck, she would do that afterwards, when already invisible.

She reached out. Her fingers were just inches from the little golden thing, she could almost touch it...

"Galatea?"

It was as if waking up abruptly.

She flinched guiltily and turned her face to Boromir, whose head tilted to the side, obviously trying to figure out what she was doing.

Now everything she'd just thought a moment earlier seemed a nightmare. Did she just consider putting the Ring on?

Hastily, she glanced back at Frodo's sleeping form and pretended to adjust his covers with the hand that had almost sinned in the worst way possible.

"I heard you and Aragorn talking," she told her fiancée, "I was checking that the Hobbits were still sleeping."

Thankfully, Boromir bought it. In fact, it wasn't even a complete lie, because she'd been doing that before she'd seen the Ring. Galatea was ashamed of herself for not telling him, she should just come clean with him, but she was even more ashamed of herself for what she'd almost done! How could she live with herself if he didn't understand the urgency she'd felt to take the Ring?

Well, she thought, one day she would tell him. Boromir of all people could understand. After all, she hadn't _actually_ done it, so no one could blame her, really.

"I am sorry I haven't paid more attention to you, these past few days, dearest," Boromir said suddenly, "Please, forgive me."

That was enough to have Galatea stop hovering over Frodo like a vulture. Who cared about the Ring now? It had been a while since Boromir had even called her 'dearest' and she loved it when he called her that!

"I'm not mad about it," Galatea said, closing the gap between them by stepping over Merry's little form and wrapping her arms about Boromir's strong body. She'd never felt this good since she'd woken up after making love to him. She leant her head over his chest and cherished his gloved hands stroking her hair, "I haven't been in a good mood either. None of us has."

They stood, silent, wrapped in each other's arms, listening to the faint noise of the stream of the Great River.

The greatness of what she had almost done hit Galatea hard. She didn't deserve such love from this Man. She hadn't even been honest with him, she hadn't told him he was going to die... no, she wouldn't let anything happen to him, not if she could do something about it! But telling him wasn't an option. Both Elrond and Gandalf had told her that some things could change from what she knew would happen because of her presence in Middle Earth and Boromir wouldn't believe her if she did tell him. It's typical of the human condition to never give in to death, not until you are actually facing it. So why would she jeopardise her relationship for something that she didn't know would actually happen?

"We should just go back to Minas Tirith." Galatea said.

"I know that," Boromir answered, "I just cannot bring myself to leave our friends to go against this peril alone."

She knew it was true but not the complete truth. He wanted to stay with the Fellowship for the Ring as well. That's what she felt too. Maybe she should just tell him about Amon Hen and be done with it. Maybe he would understand and believe her and he would agree to just let it go and return to Minas Tirith.

"Me neither," Galatea admitted.

Boromir sighed deeply, "I am glad I can count on you to understand me, Galatea."

"Of course you can!" Galatea gasped, "If you can't count on me there would be no point in getting married at all!"

Boromir shut her up with an abrupt kiss that took her breath away.

"I love you," he whispered, as if the fact that he'd just proposed to her a month earlier wasn't proof enough, "I have never met anyone like you. You amaze me every day and I want to be amazed for the rest of my days!"

"Oh, Boromir!"

"If it wasn't for you bringing light to my days..."

"Are you done flirting?"

Merry was sitting in the same spot where, a moment earlier, he had been sleeping soundly. To Galatea's horror, the rest of the Fellowship was staring at them as well. Rather confused at finding all his companions staring at the couple, Aragorn was on the other side of the camp, rummaging with his pants, which told Galatea that he'd probably taken a small trip into the woods to relieve himself.

"Master Boromir, Lady Galatea," said Legolas pleasantly, "We are all very happy that you two are in love but, as we spend all day rowing, it would be nice to make all that we can of the few hours of sleep we have."

"I'm ever so sorry, little one!" Boromir said immediately, ruffling Merry's hair, "I didn't realise I was talking so loudly! Please, everyone, feel free to go back to sleep!"

"We were going to sleep ourselves, anyway." Galatea nodded to emphasise Boromir's words.

"Were you?" Gimli asked in a playful growl.

Galatea glared at him, eyes flashing warningly, "And what are you implying, Master Dwarf?"

"Nothing, Lassie, nothing..."

"Good." Galatea said firmly, before talking to the Hobbits again, "Go back to bed."

"Well, now I can't!" Pippin protested, "All this noise woke me up!"

Galatea took her chance. If there was one thing that relaxed her and that she thought would be appropriate was singing. And if there was a chance to make Boromir understand that they had to return to Minas Tirith as soon as possible it was by singing about it. Maybe he would understand without Galatea actually telling her.

"How about I sing a song from my world for you?"

"Yes, please!" the Hobbits implored.

_My own love said to me_

_My brother won't mind._

_And my father won't slight you_

_for your lack of kind._

_He went away from me _

_and this he did say_

_It will not be long, Love,_

_till our wedding day_

_He went away from me_

_And he moved through the fair_

_And slowly I watched him_

_Move here and move there_

_He went his way homeward_

_with one star awake_

_As this swan in the evening_

_moves over the lake_

_I dreamed last night_

_that my own love came in_

_He came in so sweetly_

_his feet made no din_

_He came close beside me_

_And this he did say_

_It will not be long Love_

_till our wedding day_

_It will not be long love_

_long love_

_long love_

_love_

Galatea had chosen that song because it was a way to tell Boromir about his probable fate. She had even changed a few words from the original lyrics, hoping he would get the message.

Sam, Merry and Pippin had dozen off again. Gimli was snoring a moment later. Aragorn and Frodo, always the scholars, in a way, had a small discussion over the words and the meaning beneath them. Legolas went for a walk in the woods.

Boromir kissed his betrothed's head and bid her goodnight. He didn't seem to have understood the meaning of the song.

5


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